Dr. James Wilde, associate professor of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Georgia, talked with AugustaChronicle.com users Friday about the ongoing swine flu outbreak. Dr. Wilde is a member of the Georgia Pandemic Flu Committee and serves as state medical director for Georgia United Against Antibiotic Resistant Disease. He is also an emergency physician for Medical College of Georgia Hospital and Clinics.

Jonathan Dozier: Good afternoon -- This is Jonathan Dozier, online director at The Chronicle. Today we're talking with Dr. James Wilde of MCGHealth about the swine flu outbreak in the news this week. Dr. Wilde, thanks for joining us.

James Wilde: Thanks for inviting me.

Jonathan Dozier: We'll kick things off with some questions submitted by readers...

ColCo: Officials seem to be in panic mode, why is this strain of flu so different from other strains? Is the government over reacting and what are they not telling us?

James Wilde: Nobody should be panicking. CDC in my opinion has handled this beautifully so far...

James Wilde: This is a new strain of flu with its origin in pigs. A new flu bug like this has the potential to cause our next global pandemic...

James Wilde: Since we don't know if this the "real deal" with regard to Pandemic, the government is taking appropriate, prudent steps to prepare us. I do trust the informaion we are getting from CDC.

C-Dogg: How does swine flu differ from a regular flu virus? Is it more likely to cause death?

James Wilde: Swine flu had its origins in pigs, which is the primary way that it differs from our usual flu strains....

James Wilde: So far it does NOT appear to be any more deadly than our usual strains of seasonal flu...

James Wilde: ...but keep in mind that in normal flu seasons between 30,000 and 40,000 Americans die from their infection. We expect deaths even without the extra concern about Swine flu

James Wilde: There is some confusing information coming from Mexico...

tomcampbell: Dr. Wilde, What is the difference between this "Swine flu" and the version in 1976 that led to innoculations of millions of Americans?

James Wilde: (to finish that thought) In Mexico there are a substantial number or deaths reported, but most of those deaths are not yet confirmed to be due to Swine Flu.

James Wilde: Both had origins in Swine...

James Wilde: The 1976 Swine flu was first found at Fort Dix and caused the death of at least one soldier. That is what raised the alarm bells....

James Wilde: Federal officials feared a pandemic, so a vaccine was made that ended up causing a higher than normal rate of side effects....

James Wilde: Combiined with the fact that widespread infection from that virus never materialized, the 1976 incident ended up causing a lot of confusion about vaccine in particular...

James Wilde: We are still trying to repair the damage today. This swine virus has already spread far and wide, and caused at least a few confirmed deaths, so this is clearly more significant already than 1976.

Jonathan Dozier: To backtrack a moment, how is "pandemic" defined -- what would a pandemic look like, if swine flu were capable of reaching that level?

James Wilde: A pandemic means you have spread of an infectious disease all over the world at essentially the same time. This is as opposed to an epidemic of whooping cough in one single country....

James Wilde: We had three pandemics in the 20th century...

James Wilde: In 1918, at least 50 milliion people died, more than died in all the battles of WW I.....

James Wilde: But the pandemics in 1957 and 1968 caused "only" 1-2 million deaths....

James Wilde: Those later pandemics were still significant, but nothing like 1918....

James Wilde: We don't know how severe the next pandemic will be, or when it will hit, but we know with certainty it is coming....

James Wilde: So to answer the question, we don't know yet how severe a pandemic from Swine Flu might be, or even if we are going into a Pandemic.

elizabeth.adams: Is wearing a mask is useful or recommended? Yesterday in Augusta I saw two healthy-looking women wearing masks. They appeared to just be shopping or running typical errands.

James Wilde: They don't need those masks...yet. It may be necessary if we get Swine Flu in Augusta in sufficient numbers. MCG and Public Health authorities will alert the public abou when masks in public are warranted. I am not wearing one yet.

Jonathan Dozier: A user named stratos asks, regarding the 20th century's three pandemics, what disease were they? All influenza of some type?

James Wilde: Yes, sorry, those were all flu pandemics. We have evidence for about the last 3 centuries that the world averages 3-5 flu pandemics per century, so we are long overdue. The last flu pandemic was the Hong Kong flu in 1968.

dillster: What is the Georgia Preparedness Plan in the event of a Pandemic? What should we do if we suspect we have the flu and we don't have health insurance?

James Wilde: The Georgia plan is online and can be found at the DHS website. Most otherwise healthy people with flu, including swine flu, will be ill for 3-5 days. Most do not require medical care...

James Wilde: Antibiotics are worthless against the flu since antibiotics kill bacteria only. Flu is a virus....

James Wilde: Like most viral infections, flu is self limited in the vast majority of cases, meaning you feel like you've been run over by a truck for 3-5 days, then you recomver....

James Wilde: We recommend that most people with ordinary flu stay home, get plenty of fluids and bed rest, and take fever lowering medications because they do make you feel better, although they do not speed up the recovery process....

James Wilde: People who are not improved after 4-5 days or who have significant underlying health problems should seek care from their own doctor, or an emergency department if they do not have their own doctor....

James Wilde: We do NOT advise that everyone with flu symptoms rush into the nearest ER since there is very little if anything that the doctor can do for the infection....

James Wilde: The exception are the folks right now with probable or proven Swine flu. They should be treated with antiviral medications like Tamiflu or Relenza....

James Wilde: Folks with any form of flu, even in an ordinary season, who have severe underlying health problems may benefit from antiviral medications as well and for that reason they should see their doctor.

vanessuhh: We are flying on the 23rd of this month to the PA/NJ area with our 20-month old, should I be concerned and change the date?

James Wilde: I would not unless things change dramatically for the worse in the next week or two....

James Wilde: I think we will have a good idea of how severe this outbreak will be in the next week or two, so you have time to sit back and monitor. I would certainly travel right now.

C-Dogg: I have seen ads for supplements like Airborne that claim to strengthen your immune system against viruses. Are there any over the counter products that can help against being infected?

James Wilde: The CDC and, I think also the FDA, have warned against those ads. Those products are not likely to have any signifant benefit....

James Wilde: The best way to strengthen your immune system is to get plenty of rest, eat healthy foods, and try to reduce your stress level.

James Wilde: Also exercise.

Petals777: Dr. Wilde, was this virus caused naturally by a pig or was is made by man? Should we be staying away from all pork products?

James Wilde: It was not "caused" by pigs. Flu viruses can intermingle, and trade genetic material to produce new flu viruses....

James Wilde: That is most certainly what happened here. This is not a "pure" pig flu virus, so pigs are not a danger to us, and neither is eathing well cooked pork....

James Wilde: There is NO evidence that this virus was created by terrorists, as has been suggested online.

James Wilde: This was likely a chance mutation....

C-Dogg: After reading your comments it seems like this is no worse than an ordinary flu. So do you think the increased panic over swine flu is warranted?

James Wilde: So far in the US it is no worse than ordinary flu. In that sense, panic is absolutely NOT warranted....

James Wilde: We should take reasonable precautions, and prepare for a pandemic, but it is important to state that we are not necessarily facing a severe pandemic at this point....

James Wilde: On the other hand, it would be foolhardy to ignore what is happening in Mexico and the US. Let's focus on keeping well informed and try to avoid ratcheting up anxiety unnecesarily...

James Wilde: It is still possible that this will fizzle out in the next few weeks...

James Wilde: ...but if it does there is a distinct possibility that it will be back as the main virus in our next flu season in November/December...

James Wilde: For this reason, we should not get complacent if this does fizzle out. We should look at this as the dress rehearsal for the big show down the road.

Jonathan Dozier: So to kind of sum up, what should the average person be doing or thinking about regarding swine flu at this point? And what would be the signal that we should start behaving/thinking differently?

James Wilde: The average citizen of the CSRA should go about their daily tasks without any feeling of doom or gloom. Stay informed, follow the advice and briefings from the health department, local medical personnel, and the CDC. I recommend the CDC site as an excellent source of information: www.cdc.gov/swineflu/....

James Wilde: We maintain a web site also at MCG that is updated daily and gives more of a local flavor to the advice: www.mcg.edu.....

James Wilde: We will alert the CSRA when new information becomes available. If we see a change in this outbreak in the US such that it looks like we are getting a substantial number of deaths, or rapid spread from casual contact, then we should change our behavior...

James Wilde: One last thing. Don't go to public places, especially your workplace, if you are sick. If you are not sick, wash your hands frequently and avoid touhing your eyes, nose, or mouth. That advice applies any time of the year.

Jonathan Dozier: We're at 5 p.m. now, so we'll close out with that answer... Dr. Wilde, thanks much for taking time to speak with us today. A lot of useful information.

James Wilde: Thanks Jonathan. I hope this was helpful.