What is Swine Flu, or H1N1?

Dr. Greg Poland answers the question: 'What is Swine Flu, or H1N1?'

By
Greg Poland, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director, Mayo Vaccine Research Group, Mayo Clinic
September 25, 2008, 9:56 AM ET
1 min read

May 27, 2009 -- Question: What is swine flu, or H1N1?

Answer: In some respects it's just like any other influenza virus. It's a virus that causes a predominantly respiratory illness. What's unique about this swine flu is that it is a mutated type of virus so that nobody in the U.S. or probably world wide has any immunity to it. Hence it's ability to cause widespread infections.