Ask Dr. Marie: Five FAQs About H1N1 Flu

May 3, 2009— -- I can't turn on the television or radio or pick up a newspaper without hearing about the new flu strain. Note: I am personally calling it the "new flu strain" rather than the "swine flu." And, I confess, although I am not overly alarmed by what we know so far, my public health training has me concerned and intrigued by this story, too.

As I do countless radio interviews for ABC News on the subject, I find that everyone is asking the same smart questions.

Although pigs are great incubators for many different strains of viral influenza, there is no evidence that pigs are infected. Even if pigs are infected somewhere in Mexico, eating cooked pork products would not pose a risk for influenza (although other infectious illnesses, like trichinosis, can occasionally arise from poorly cooked pork).

Influenza viruses live in the respiratory tract and infect our nasal and upper respiratory passages, not our gastrointestinal tracts. The confusion, I think, comes from naming this the swine flu rather than just calling it what it is -- a new flu strain. Still, calling it the swine flu is understandable because this new strain has a mixture of genetic material, including material that originated from pig viruses.

We will only know in retrospect, likely next year after the next flu season has passed, whether to be very worried. Because all influenza or flu viruses are constantly changing and mutating, there is no way to know so early in the research of this virus what exactly will happen.

And, as historians have long reminded us, the pandemic of 1918 started with a mild outbreak of the flu in the spring followed by a devastating and deadly flu season the following fall and winter. When it comes to risking our health and, potentially, our lives, it is always better to be safe than sorry -- even if that means directing much of our attention in the media to understanding more about this virus.