Why, you, should, get, your, swine, flu, jab

Back in June, your humble correspondent attended a course at one of the world’s great places for virus swap-meets - a backpackers’ hostel in Sydney.

A few nights later, just a tickle of a sore throat kicked in. For some reason, my appetite disappeared, and the act of eating suddenly seemed like an immense chore. The next day, the sore throat got gradually worse until I found myself with a nasty fever and able to do little save for lying on the couch. I had not much in the way of sleep, as I spent it tossing around and sweating like an…ahem…pig. I had very little energy for anything - even watching television seemed to take up more energy than I had in me.

The symptoms of swine flu - my symptoms - are similar to the regular flu, including fever, cough, sore throat, aching body, headache, chills, and fatigue.

However, for me they were the same as a regular flu but twice as severe, and lasted about three times longer than your regular flu. This extended to the fever which, instead of lasting one fretful night, seemed to go on for close to three days. That goes for just about everything else I can think of regarding my experience. Think you might need a box of tissues? Get three.

The sore throat and the fever gradually subsided to be replaced by a miserable, persistent, disgusting, sputum laden cough – I never sneezed once during the entire episode. It was about a week before something like a regular appetite returned, and close to a whole month before I felt like I had fully recovered. No medicine I took, save for the odd headache tablet, seemed to make a spit of difference.

I tell you all of this because it seems the meme going around – especially for those in the northern hemisphere entering the flu season - is that the risks of swine flu are overstated. Indeed, in the grand scheme of things, any rational comparison between H1N1 and other diseases that afflict the world shows that it’s not really that big of a deal. Also, we hear people questioning the effectiveness of the vaccinations and – on the fringes loopy conspiracy theories. Now as we approach summertime in Australia, there are reports that few people are taking up the offer to have the free vaccine.

However, I’m here to tell you that a graph comparing swine flu and the bubonic plague will not make you feel any better if you become infected with H1N1. Swine flu is a real bitch. My advice is go out and get yourself a jab.