Look, I'll sneeze on any damn pigs I want to.

I think you mean H1N1.

@RandomHookup: i meant R2D2

1. Pigs are cleaner than humans. All this hullabaloo about the picture of that tot licking a pig's snout should be directed toward the parents who should be held responsible when the pig gets sick.

2. This virus is passed from birds to humans. Pigs passed it to birds, who then passed it to humans. At each stop, the virus mutates a bit. Otherwise it wouldn't infect across species.

3. If it weren't for our stupid doctors prescribing antibiotics every time you feel a bit unwell, you'd probably have an immune system that could combat this virus (and so would everyone else). But no, you've got to feel better 2 days earlier than if you just let your stupid sniffle run its course, so now everyone has to get sick. You selfish prick.

1) It's even worse than that, humphrmi. Antibiotics don't shorten the duration of the flu one iota. They don't do squat.

2) It's even worse, still. Most of the antibiotic resistance in the world is probably not from humans taking antibiotics for the sniffles. It is from the tons and tons of powerful antibiotics being fed to livestock (cows, chickens, etc.) routinely to try to eek out 1% higher yield at slaughter.

@gStein: +1.

@humphrmi: I agree! All my friends are so worried that they ate pork to the point I want to slap them and tell them they're going to be fine.

I've tried to tell them that there are at least 5 drugs that can cure it and that the government has stockpiles of 2 of these drugs. Also, 1 death and 110+ cases, really?

@Laura Northrup: +1, you deserve it.

@Nick1693: Don't forget that the one death was a Mexican 20-month-old toddler who was sick for months prior to coming to the US.

City persons do not understand the impact that spreading a virus to livestock, especially swine. Nor do they understand the small quantities of antibiotics fed to livestock or why the antibiotics are used.

Swine, particularly when very young, are very susceptible to pneumonia and respiratory diseases. That's when they typically have a low dosage of antibiotics in the feed for a short time to prevent the disease. Pigs showing symptoms of pneumonia may get a small injection of antibiotics to help deal with that. Key point here is that a very small amount early in life prevents death of a sick piglet and spreading the disease to the rest of the herd. Also, depending on the situation, a farmer may use a feed for a short term with a deworming additive. The net here is the healthier the pigs are, the better they grow and the better the meat is.

Due to the similarities between swine and humans, human illnesses are easily transmitted to swine and vice versa. And one pig with some diseases such as pseudorabies can inflict the entire herd. Some diseases are so easily propagated that one farmer can pass the disease from his farm to another via their boots.

And what happens if farms start getting the virus? It can infect the farmer's children, spread to the schools and cause a major breakout. Infect millions of swine and hundreds of thousands of rural people and you have a perfect environment for mutuation of the virus to something far more dangerous.

So while the farmers' actions seem selfish (and in a way they are since their economic livlihood depends on it), they are trying to protect all of us from a much larger adverse effect.

Regarding the antibiotics, you don't take the antibiotics for the flu - you take the antibiotics for the respiratory infection a severe case of the flu can cause. Similarly, you don't take antibiotics for a cold, but when you get a respiratory infection because of cold, then you take the antibiotics. Coughing up green stuff from the lungs is a good example.