Swine Flu Offical Thread
- Thread starter NoxiousN8
- Start date
another scare. boy cries wolf.
desensitized to all this bullshit in america: buy ductape, check - deadly flu viruses every other year, check. gun shootings, stabbings every day, check.
fear, fear, fear, far, check check check. enough is enough. let me know when some real shit goes down. what a joke.
desensitized to all this bullshit in america: buy ductape, check - deadly flu viruses every other year, check. gun shootings, stabbings every day, check.
fear, fear, fear, far, check check check. enough is enough. let me know when some real shit goes down. what a joke.
Once again, it is very bad science to jump to unsubstantiated conclusions like this with zero evidence, only based on suspicions. But given your attitude to proper reasoning, that's not surprising
Just because somebody is talking something doesn't mean this is the cause of what you see. Again, some terrible logic here. People have also been talking about aliens plotting to invade us, X-files style.
Ordering the doses was the "right" thing to do and I would be curious to see the reaction of people if it hasn't been done and a real pandemic broke out. Of course, that's exactly what I have done but that's a different discussion. Also, there is hardly a Big Pharma company without close connections to the ruling elite. And finally, if a few years ago they ordered 80 million doses of Tamiflu and nothing happened, why is it that now they haven't ordered anything yet, but we're talking about 200 deaths? If the avian flu was a scare to profit from, this one looks exactly the opposite (I don't think there is anything to be scared about now either, but again, that's another question)
Maybe some hard evidence would help.
If nobody closes the borders by the time this is over, would you admit you are wrong?
There is no need to indulge into biological details but there are lots of ways to make a truly deadly virus that is also a lot easier to control than flu. Flu can easily get out of hands, because there are so many different strains out there. While we have the knowledge and technology (although not as much of either as we wish we would have) to modify any virus into something much better suited for the purposes you suggest, i.e. it will be really deadly and the it could be shut down at will at any time.
Also, it will never be something completely novel because not a single person in the world knows enough about protein biochemistry to be able to design a whole virus de novo. Which means that whatever has been engineered will be a modified version of something already existing, therefore it will also either bear traces of being engineered in its sequence (i.e. sequences from something else spliced into its DNA), or it will be totally indistinguishable from a naturally evolved virus. In the first case, scientists in China with no connections to the US government would find this out very soon after sequencing the viral genome. In the second, natural evolution of the virus is the best explanation until proven otherwise.
If you go to Pubmed, there is link to a depository of swine flu sequences on the homepage. They look exactly as if the virus is the product of recombination of existing strains plus a few mutations, all processes known to occur all the time in nature.
Just because it didn't start in Swine Farm X in Mexico, how does this prove that it did not start in Mexico??? BTW, it is known that it didn't start in Mexico, the virus has been most likely evolving by being repeatedly transferred between Asia and Mexico
Just because somebody is talking something doesn't mean this is the cause of what you see. Again, some terrible logic here. People have also been talking about aliens plotting to invade us, X-files style.
Ordering the doses was the "right" thing to do and I would be curious to see the reaction of people if it hasn't been done and a real pandemic broke out. Of course, that's exactly what I have done but that's a different discussion. Also, there is hardly a Big Pharma company without close connections to the ruling elite. And finally, if a few years ago they ordered 80 million doses of Tamiflu and nothing happened, why is it that now they haven't ordered anything yet, but we're talking about 200 deaths? If the avian flu was a scare to profit from, this one looks exactly the opposite (I don't think there is anything to be scared about now either, but again, that's another question)
Maybe some hard evidence would help.
If nobody closes the borders by the time this is over, would you admit you are wrong?
There is no need to indulge into biological details but there are lots of ways to make a truly deadly virus that is also a lot easier to control than flu. Flu can easily get out of hands, because there are so many different strains out there. While we have the knowledge and technology (although not as much of either as we wish we would have) to modify any virus into something much better suited for the purposes you suggest, i.e. it will be really deadly and the it could be shut down at will at any time.
Also, it will never be something completely novel because not a single person in the world knows enough about protein biochemistry to be able to design a whole virus de novo. Which means that whatever has been engineered will be a modified version of something already existing, therefore it will also either bear traces of being engineered in its sequence (i.e. sequences from something else spliced into its DNA), or it will be totally indistinguishable from a naturally evolved virus. In the first case, scientists in China with no connections to the US government would find this out very soon after sequencing the viral genome. In the second, natural evolution of the virus is the best explanation until proven otherwise.
If you go to Pubmed, there is link to a depository of swine flu sequences on the homepage. They look exactly as if the virus is the product of recombination of existing strains plus a few mutations, all processes known to occur all the time in nature.
Just because it didn't start in Swine Farm X in Mexico, how does this prove that it did not start in Mexico??? BTW, it is known that it didn't start in Mexico, the virus has been most likely evolving by being repeatedly transferred between Asia and Mexico
Unsubstantiated conclusions? It is a known FACT americans have practiced germ/bio warfare on other people, and a known FACT the american government has experimented on it's own people. Why then, would it be far-fetched to assume that this is not something the american government has once again done?
It is illogical to not take things into totality, especially when, the people giving the warning are people actually involved in the research and development of the things they are warning us about.
So, you admit that Big Pharma companies have close connections with who you call "the ruling elite", yet you ask why america would need to make money from it's citizens and actually rule out the possibility that this is man made?
Moreover, how can you say ordering the doses was the "right thing to do", when several parties outside of our governments influence and control said they were incorrect in their findings? If you are a science student, you of all people should know that inconsistent data warrants more research and another hypotheses. In regards to this flu and why they haven't ordered anything, watch the video in my last post as the guy explains what's going on with tamiflu, how it won't be much help if the virus mutates, and how they are trying to develop something to fight this virus.
And no, if this were for profit, it doesn't seem odd as two companies stocks have already jumped because of this and, we are in the begining stages of the virus attacking humans. If I can recall, Mexico, or certain parts of Mexico, have basically shut down for like five days and that will cause a loss of revenue. Now imagine if their economy were to go on vacation for a significant amount of time. Who would stand to benefit from that?
Admit I'm wrong about what? Do you even know what it is I've been saying in this thread the entire time? Can you tell me what it is you think I'm implying or stating? I've already shown you why it is important to read before you reply (refer to page 3 and 4), and it is quite obvious you still don't understand. Once again, tell me what you think I'm saying or suggesting, so I can clarify for you, and so we can have a mutual understanding of what each person is saying.
Again, no one is suggesting there are not lots of deadly viruses that are easier to control than flu. Let's take rabies for example, it's a widely known virus, probably everyone on this site has heard of it, but I bet you not everyone on this site are aware of the ramifications if it's left untreated. This is a more deadly virus than flu and easily contained if caught in time. You can bypass treating a flu and your body may still fight it off, but if you try to bypass rabies treatment after you've been infected you can kiss it good-bye. Also, and this is something you should answer before we move forward, what are the "purposes" you say I'm "suggesting"?
No one has implied it was made from scratch or people were making things from scratch.
I just want you to know, once again, that I understand the process of it all. Other readers might not know what restriction enzymes are, what the hell a plasmid is, or what translation, transcription and amino acid coding are, but assume that until I ask you to explain, that I know it. I say this because I've said nothing to contradict what you're saying about the process of it all, and it's a waste of our time for you to tell me something I already know. Now, I ask you a yes or no question, is it possible that the reconstructed 1918 virus could have been manipulated to mimic a naturally evolved virus or to "hide" certain traits? I ask this because I know scientists recently discovered Trypanosoma brucei changing it's coat when the telomeres were shortened, which caused it to avoid detection, so if this is man made, more specifically made from the 1918 virus, could it have been manipulated to do something similar?
It doesn't and this was never stated or implied, so read the last sentence again:
If he is correct in his assessment, it only rules out it didn't start where they said it started. If you don't know where it came from, it doesn't make sense to rule out the other parts of Mexico that haven't been ruled out.
It was not known when this thread started. In addition, people in Asia who never went to Mexico, or had contact with people in Mexico, are coming down with the virus. Moreover, health officials in Mexico are saying it started in Asia, so we're back to the same question. Where did this come from?
Also, we have an even more important question to ask, and that is, should people/companies/organizations/government make statements when they are not 100% sure about the facts regarding their statements? I mean seriously, can you truly blame people for thinking "conspiracy" or "Dr. Mindbenders latest elixer" when those said to be experts, are giving wrong information?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5244801/Swine-flu-Mexico-claims-it-started-in-Asia.html
It is illogical to not take things into totality, especially when, the people giving the warning are people actually involved in the research and development of the things they are warning us about.
So, you admit that Big Pharma companies have close connections with who you call "the ruling elite", yet you ask why america would need to make money from it's citizens and actually rule out the possibility that this is man made?
Moreover, how can you say ordering the doses was the "right thing to do", when several parties outside of our governments influence and control said they were incorrect in their findings? If you are a science student, you of all people should know that inconsistent data warrants more research and another hypotheses. In regards to this flu and why they haven't ordered anything, watch the video in my last post as the guy explains what's going on with tamiflu, how it won't be much help if the virus mutates, and how they are trying to develop something to fight this virus.And no, if this were for profit, it doesn't seem odd as two companies stocks have already jumped because of this and, we are in the begining stages of the virus attacking humans. If I can recall, Mexico, or certain parts of Mexico, have basically shut down for like five days and that will cause a loss of revenue. Now imagine if their economy were to go on vacation for a significant amount of time. Who would stand to benefit from that?
Admit I'm wrong about what? Do you even know what it is I've been saying in this thread the entire time? Can you tell me what it is you think I'm implying or stating? I've already shown you why it is important to read before you reply (refer to page 3 and 4), and it is quite obvious you still don't understand. Once again, tell me what you think I'm saying or suggesting, so I can clarify for you, and so we can have a mutual understanding of what each person is saying.
Again, no one is suggesting there are not lots of deadly viruses that are easier to control than flu. Let's take rabies for example, it's a widely known virus, probably everyone on this site has heard of it, but I bet you not everyone on this site are aware of the ramifications if it's left untreated. This is a more deadly virus than flu and easily contained if caught in time. You can bypass treating a flu and your body may still fight it off, but if you try to bypass rabies treatment after you've been infected you can kiss it good-bye. Also, and this is something you should answer before we move forward, what are the "purposes" you say I'm "suggesting"?
No one has implied it was made from scratch or people were making things from scratch.
I just want you to know, once again, that I understand the process of it all. Other readers might not know what restriction enzymes are, what the hell a plasmid is, or what translation, transcription and amino acid coding are, but assume that until I ask you to explain, that I know it. I say this because I've said nothing to contradict what you're saying about the process of it all, and it's a waste of our time for you to tell me something I already know. Now, I ask you a yes or no question, is it possible that the reconstructed 1918 virus could have been manipulated to mimic a naturally evolved virus or to "hide" certain traits? I ask this because I know scientists recently discovered Trypanosoma brucei changing it's coat when the telomeres were shortened, which caused it to avoid detection, so if this is man made, more specifically made from the 1918 virus, could it have been manipulated to do something similar?
It doesn't and this was never stated or implied, so read the last sentence again:
If he is correct in his assessment, it only rules out it didn't start where they said it started. If you don't know where it came from, it doesn't make sense to rule out the other parts of Mexico that haven't been ruled out.
It was not known when this thread started. In addition, people in Asia who never went to Mexico, or had contact with people in Mexico, are coming down with the virus. Moreover, health officials in Mexico are saying it started in Asia, so we're back to the same question. Where did this come from?
Also, we have an even more important question to ask, and that is, should people/companies/organizations/government make statements when they are not 100% sure about the facts regarding their statements? I mean seriously, can you truly blame people for thinking "conspiracy" or "Dr. Mindbenders latest elixer" when those said to be experts, are giving wrong information?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/swine-flu/5244801/Swine-flu-Mexico-claims-it-started-in-Asia.html
Smithfield Foods Fled US Environmental Laws to Open a Gigantic Pig Farm in Mexico, and All We Got Was this Lousy Swine Flu
http://narconews.com/Issue57/article3512.html
i'm not worried about this at all, in fact i'm heading to mexico city in a few weeks...yay! airfare drop because of this flu!
http://narconews.com/Issue57/article3512.html
i'm not worried about this at all, in fact i'm heading to mexico city in a few weeks...yay! airfare drop because of this flu!
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afrdATVXPEAk
Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Investigates Claim
By Jason Gale and Simeon Bennett
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error.
Adrian Gibbs, 75, who collaborated on research that led to the development of Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu drug, said in an interview that he intends to publish a report suggesting the new strain may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines. Gibbs said he came to his conclusion as part of an effort to trace the virus’s origins by analyzing its genetic blueprint.
“One of the simplest explanations is that it’s a laboratory escape,” Gibbs said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. “But there are lots of others.”
The World Health Organization received the study last weekend and is reviewing it, Keiji Fukuda, the agency’s assistant director-general of health security and environment, said in an interview May 11. Gibbs, who has studied germ evolution for four decades, is one of the first scientists to analyze the genetic makeup of the virus that was identified three weeks ago in Mexico and threatens to touch off the first flu pandemic since 1968.
A virus that resulted from lab experimentation or vaccine production may indicate a greater need for security, Fukuda said. By pinpointing the source of the virus, scientists also may better understand the microbe’s potential for spreading and causing illness, Gibbs said.
Possible Mistake
“The sooner we get to grips with where it’s come from, the safer things might become,” Gibbs said by phone from Canberra yesterday. “It could be a mistake” that occurred at a vaccine production facility or the virus could have jumped from a pig to another mammal or a bird before reaching humans, he said.
Gibbs and two colleagues analyzed the publicly available sequences of hundreds of amino acids coded by each of the flu virus’s eight genes. He said he aims to submit his three-page paper today for publication in a medical journal.
“You really want a very sober assessment” of the science behind the claim, Fukuda said May 11 at the WHO’s Geneva headquarters.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has received the report and has decided there is no evidence to support Gibbs’s conclusion, said Nancy Cox, director of the agency’s influenza division. She said since researchers don’t have samples of swine flu viruses from South America and Africa, where the new strain may have evolved, those regions can’t be ruled out as natural sources for the new flu.
No Evidence
“We are interested in the origins of this new influenza virus,” Cox said. “But contrary to what the author has found, when we do the comparisons that are most relevant, there is no evidence that this virus was derived by passage in eggs.”
The WHO’s collaborative influenza research centers, which includes the CDC, and sites in Memphis, Melbourne, London and Tokyo, were asked by the international health agency to review the study over the weekend, Fukuda said. The request was extended to scientists at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, as well as the WHO’s influenza network, he said.
“My guess is that the picture should be a lot clearer over the next few days,” Fukuda said. “We have asked a lot of people to look at this.”
Virus Expert
Gibbs wrote or co-authored more than 250 scientific publications on viruses during his 39-year career at the Australian National University in Canberra, according to biographical information on the university’s Web site.
Swine flu has infected 5,251 people in 30 countries so far, killing 61, according to WHO data. Scientists are trying to determine whether the virus will mutate and become more deadly if it spreads to the Southern Hemisphere and back. Flu pandemics occur when a strain of the disease to which few people have immunity evolves and spreads.
Gibbs said his analysis supports research by scientists including Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, who found the new strain is the product of two distinct lineages of influenza that have circulated among swine in North America and Europe for more than a decade.
In addition, Gibbs said his research found the rate of genetic mutation in the new virus was about three times faster than that of the most closely related viruses found in pigs, suggesting it evolved outside of swine.
Gene Evolution
“Whatever speeded up the evolution of these genes happened at least seven or eight years ago, so one wonders, why hasn’t it been found?” Gibbs said today.
Some scientists have speculated that the 1977 Russian flu, the most recent global outbreak, began when a virus escaped from a laboratory.
Identifying the source of new flu viruses is difficult without finding the exact strain in an animal or bird “reservoir,” said Jennifer McKimm-Breschkin, a virologist at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization in Melbourne.
“If you can’t find an exact match, the best you can do is compare sequences,” she said. “Similarities may give an indication of a possible source, but this remains theoretical.”
The World Organization for Animal Health, which represents chief veterinary officers from 174 countries, received the Gibbs paper and is working with the WHO on an assessment, said Maria Zampaglione, a spokeswoman.
Genetic Patterns
The WHO wants to know whether any evidence that the virus may have been developed in a laboratory can be corroborated and whether there are other explanations for its particular genetic patterns, according to Fukuda.
“These things have to be dealt with straight on,” he said. “If someone makes a hypothesis, then you test it and you let scientific process take its course.”
Gibbs said he has no evidence that the swine-derived virus was a deliberate, man-made product.
“I don’t think it could be a malignant thing,” he said. “It’s much more likely that some random thing has put these two viruses together.”
Gibbs, who spent most of his academic career studying plant viruses, said his major contribution to the study of influenza occurred in 1975, while collaborating with scientists Graeme Laver and Robert Webster in research that led to the development of the anti-flu medicines Tamiflu and Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Bird Poo
“We were out on one of the Barrier Reef islands, off Australia, catching birds for the flu in them, and I happened to be the guy who caught the best,” Gibbs said. The bird he got “yielded the poo from which was isolated the influenza isolate strain from which all the work on Tamiflu and Relenza started.”
Gibbs, who says he studies the evolution of flu viruses as a “retirement hobby,” expects his research to be challenged by other scientists.
“This is how science progresses,” he said. “Somebody comes up with a wild idea, and then they all pounce on it and kick you to death, and then you start off on another silly idea.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Gale in Geneva at [email protected]; Simeon Bennett in Singapore at [email protected].
Swine Flu May Be Human Error; WHO Investigates Claim
By Jason Gale and Simeon Bennett
May 13 (Bloomberg) -- The World Health Organization is investigating a claim by an Australian researcher that the swine flu virus circling the globe may have been created as a result of human error.
Adrian Gibbs, 75, who collaborated on research that led to the development of Roche Holding AG’s Tamiflu drug, said in an interview that he intends to publish a report suggesting the new strain may have accidentally evolved in eggs scientists use to grow viruses and drugmakers use to make vaccines. Gibbs said he came to his conclusion as part of an effort to trace the virus’s origins by analyzing its genetic blueprint.
“One of the simplest explanations is that it’s a laboratory escape,” Gibbs said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. “But there are lots of others.”
The World Health Organization received the study last weekend and is reviewing it, Keiji Fukuda, the agency’s assistant director-general of health security and environment, said in an interview May 11. Gibbs, who has studied germ evolution for four decades, is one of the first scientists to analyze the genetic makeup of the virus that was identified three weeks ago in Mexico and threatens to touch off the first flu pandemic since 1968.
A virus that resulted from lab experimentation or vaccine production may indicate a greater need for security, Fukuda said. By pinpointing the source of the virus, scientists also may better understand the microbe’s potential for spreading and causing illness, Gibbs said.
Possible Mistake
“The sooner we get to grips with where it’s come from, the safer things might become,” Gibbs said by phone from Canberra yesterday. “It could be a mistake” that occurred at a vaccine production facility or the virus could have jumped from a pig to another mammal or a bird before reaching humans, he said.
Gibbs and two colleagues analyzed the publicly available sequences of hundreds of amino acids coded by each of the flu virus’s eight genes. He said he aims to submit his three-page paper today for publication in a medical journal.
“You really want a very sober assessment” of the science behind the claim, Fukuda said May 11 at the WHO’s Geneva headquarters.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta has received the report and has decided there is no evidence to support Gibbs’s conclusion, said Nancy Cox, director of the agency’s influenza division. She said since researchers don’t have samples of swine flu viruses from South America and Africa, where the new strain may have evolved, those regions can’t be ruled out as natural sources for the new flu.
No Evidence
“We are interested in the origins of this new influenza virus,” Cox said. “But contrary to what the author has found, when we do the comparisons that are most relevant, there is no evidence that this virus was derived by passage in eggs.”
The WHO’s collaborative influenza research centers, which includes the CDC, and sites in Memphis, Melbourne, London and Tokyo, were asked by the international health agency to review the study over the weekend, Fukuda said. The request was extended to scientists at the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome, the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, as well as the WHO’s influenza network, he said.
“My guess is that the picture should be a lot clearer over the next few days,” Fukuda said. “We have asked a lot of people to look at this.”
Virus Expert
Gibbs wrote or co-authored more than 250 scientific publications on viruses during his 39-year career at the Australian National University in Canberra, according to biographical information on the university’s Web site.
Swine flu has infected 5,251 people in 30 countries so far, killing 61, according to WHO data. Scientists are trying to determine whether the virus will mutate and become more deadly if it spreads to the Southern Hemisphere and back. Flu pandemics occur when a strain of the disease to which few people have immunity evolves and spreads.
Gibbs said his analysis supports research by scientists including Richard Webby, a virologist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, who found the new strain is the product of two distinct lineages of influenza that have circulated among swine in North America and Europe for more than a decade.
In addition, Gibbs said his research found the rate of genetic mutation in the new virus was about three times faster than that of the most closely related viruses found in pigs, suggesting it evolved outside of swine.
Gene Evolution
“Whatever speeded up the evolution of these genes happened at least seven or eight years ago, so one wonders, why hasn’t it been found?” Gibbs said today.
Some scientists have speculated that the 1977 Russian flu, the most recent global outbreak, began when a virus escaped from a laboratory.
Identifying the source of new flu viruses is difficult without finding the exact strain in an animal or bird “reservoir,” said Jennifer McKimm-Breschkin, a virologist at the Commonwealth Science and Industrial Research Organization in Melbourne.
“If you can’t find an exact match, the best you can do is compare sequences,” she said. “Similarities may give an indication of a possible source, but this remains theoretical.”
The World Organization for Animal Health, which represents chief veterinary officers from 174 countries, received the Gibbs paper and is working with the WHO on an assessment, said Maria Zampaglione, a spokeswoman.
Genetic Patterns
The WHO wants to know whether any evidence that the virus may have been developed in a laboratory can be corroborated and whether there are other explanations for its particular genetic patterns, according to Fukuda.
“These things have to be dealt with straight on,” he said. “If someone makes a hypothesis, then you test it and you let scientific process take its course.”
Gibbs said he has no evidence that the swine-derived virus was a deliberate, man-made product.
“I don’t think it could be a malignant thing,” he said. “It’s much more likely that some random thing has put these two viruses together.”
Gibbs, who spent most of his academic career studying plant viruses, said his major contribution to the study of influenza occurred in 1975, while collaborating with scientists Graeme Laver and Robert Webster in research that led to the development of the anti-flu medicines Tamiflu and Relenza, made by GlaxoSmithKline Plc.
Bird Poo
“We were out on one of the Barrier Reef islands, off Australia, catching birds for the flu in them, and I happened to be the guy who caught the best,” Gibbs said. The bird he got “yielded the poo from which was isolated the influenza isolate strain from which all the work on Tamiflu and Relenza started.”
Gibbs, who says he studies the evolution of flu viruses as a “retirement hobby,” expects his research to be challenged by other scientists.
“This is how science progresses,” he said. “Somebody comes up with a wild idea, and then they all pounce on it and kick you to death, and then you start off on another silly idea.”
To contact the reporters on this story: Jason Gale in Geneva at [email protected]; Simeon Bennett in Singapore at [email protected].
Study Supports Swine Flu's Pandemic Potential
http://health.usnews.com/articles/h...y-supports-swine-flus-pandemic-potential.html
http://health.usnews.com/articles/h...y-supports-swine-flus-pandemic-potential.html
Yeah, but he's Australian - you can't trust us bloody aussies :S
I'm going against the conspiracy theories - pigs are natural hosts of all three types of flu, each of which survive by evolving rapidly. There would be thousands of different flu strains just like the swine flu but which don't have the right combinations of genes/surface proteins, making them harmless to people. One suddenly comes along with the 'right' combination and suddenly someone has to be responsible? Even if it was accidentally cooked up in the lab, I can't see the greedy corporate bastard rubbing his hands thinking 'I'm going to release this, then sell everyone the cure and make billions, mwuhaha!'
Besides, it's pretty widespread at the moment, but the mortality is less than 1% so it's not Spanish flu or anything.
I'm going against the conspiracy theories - pigs are natural hosts of all three types of flu, each of which survive by evolving rapidly. There would be thousands of different flu strains just like the swine flu but which don't have the right combinations of genes/surface proteins, making them harmless to people. One suddenly comes along with the 'right' combination and suddenly someone has to be responsible? Even if it was accidentally cooked up in the lab, I can't see the greedy corporate bastard rubbing his hands thinking 'I'm going to release this, then sell everyone the cure and make billions, mwuhaha!'
Besides, it's pretty widespread at the moment, but the mortality is less than 1% so it's not Spanish flu or anything.