Science

Swine Flu

Here’s what you need to know.

Swine flu is popping up in Mexico, the United States, and Canada, and the virulent strain is sparking debate about public health initiatives. Slatetackles your questions, ranging from why the flu is most deadly in Mexico to whether there are strains of the flu for every type of animal—not just pigs and birds.

Blowing the Shot: What we can learn from the shortage of H1N1 vaccine,” by Marc Siegel. Posted Nov. 2, 2009.

Pig Pile: The bizarre alliance of the far left and far right against swine flu vaccinations,” by Christopher Beam. Posted Oct. 12, 2009.

Sniffing Out Swine Flu: Researchers hope to create a better way to diagnose swine flu and other ailments,” by Amanda Schaffer. Posted Oct. 7, 2009.

Up Your Nose or Down Your Throat? How doctors decide what form a drug will take,” by Christopher Beam. Posted Oct. 2, 2009.

First They Came for the Pigs: The terrible consequences of Egypt’s swine slaughter,” by Christopher Hitchens. Posted Sept. 28, 2009.

To Boost or Not To Boost: The United States’ swine flu vaccines will leave millions worldwide unprotected,” by David Dobbs. Posted Sept. 17, 2009.

Burying the Swine Flu Lede: The top dailies are too upbeat about the coming pandemic,” by Jack Shafer. Posted Sept. 11, 2009.

Cabin Fever: Trying to stop the spread of swine flu at summer camp,” By Marc Siegel. Posted July 10, 2009.

WHO and the Flu: The problems with the World Health Organization’s approach to pandemics like swine flu,” by Marc Siegel. Posted May 14, 2009.

The Talking Cure: Discussion of swine flu may have been hysterical, but it was necessary,” by Anne Applebaum. Posted May 11, 2009.

Swine Flu FAQ: Will getting swine flu now protect me later? Why is winter flu season? Why do vaccines take so long?” By Christopher Beam. Posted May 1, 2009.

Hand-Washing in Public Bathrooms: Can soap get dirty? Or is it “self-cleaning,” since it’s soap?” by Daniel Engber. Posted April 30, 2009.

What Happened to Avian Flu? It never really went away. We just forgot about it,” by Sydney Spiesel. Posted Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

The Swine Last Time: Does my 1976 inoculation still work, or doesn’t it?” by Timothy Noah. Posted Tuesday, April 28, 2009.

Flu Fighters: Sen. Susan Collins says she hates the pork, not the swine,” by Christopher Beam. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Does Every Animal Have Its Own Kind of Flu? No, but whales and seals do,” by Brian Palmer. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Why Are Some Countries Banning Pork Imports? Do they know something about swine flu that we don’t?” by Noreen Malone. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Are Pigs Dying of Swine Flu, Too? No, it’s just another day in the sty,” by Brian Palmer. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

An Outbreak of Opportunism: Mexico’s president is trying to use the swine flu to consolidate his power,” by John M. Ackerman. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Swine Flu and the Mexico Mystery: Why does the swine flu seem to be more deadly in Mexico?” by David Dobbs. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Who’s Zooming WHO? We must keep the World Health Organization focused on fighting infectious diseases,” by Anne Applebaum. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Pandemic Alert! What happens during a ‘public-health emergency,’ and what’s a ‘pandemic alert level’?” by Christopher Beam. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Stocks Catch Cold on Swine Flu Scare,” by Matthew Yeomans. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Attack of the Swine Flu: U.S. officials declare public-health emergency as worries of global pandemic increase,” by Daniel Politi. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

We also combed our archives for the following related articles:

Why Isn’t There a Cure-All Influenza Vaccine? Because it wouldn’t be safe,” by Michelle Tsai. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Do Surgical Masks Stop Swine Flu? Probably Not,” by Jon Cohen. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.

Outbreaks vs. Epidemics: Plus, when can the government quarantine its citizens?” by Brendan I. Koerner and Michelle Tsai. Posted Monday, April 27, 2009.