HIV and Swine Flu combining to form a super disease?

I'M SKEPTICAL, BUT I FOUND THIS ARTICLE TO BE VERY INTERESTING. READ IT, AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK?!
Source: Reuters
* HIV patients at high risk from flu, need antivirals most
* WHO fears complications if HIV and H1N1 viruses combine
(Adds background on HIV, seasonal influenza, antivirals)
By Laura MacInnis
GENEVA, May 2 (Reuters) - People with HIV are at high risk from the new flu strain that the World Health Organisation said is on the verge of a pandemic, the WHO said on Saturday.
The United Nations agency said people with immunodeficiency diseases -- including the AIDS virus -- will most likely be vulnerable to health complications from the H1N1 strain, as they are from regular seasonal flu, which kills between 250,000 and 500,000 people a year.
HIV and the new flu strain could also mix together in a dangerous way, as has occurred with HIV and tuberculosis, the WHO said in guidance for health workers on its website.
"Although there are inadequate data to predict the impact of a possible human influenza pandemic on HIV-affected populations, interactions between HIV/AIDS and A(H1N1) influenza could be significant," it said.
"HIV-infected persons should be considered as a high risk and a priority population for preventive and therapeutic strategies against influenza including emerging influenza A(H1N1) virus infection," it said.
The virus widely known as "swine flu" has been most severe in Mexico, where government authorities say it has killed more than 100 people, and caused more mild symptoms as it spread around the world to countries including the United States, Austria, Israel, New Zealand and South Korea. [L2430119]
Although the outbreak remains tiny in scale compared to other epidemics such as malaria, hepatitis, and meningitis, the WHO has raised its pandemic alert level to 5 out of 6 due to its rapid spread as well as the possibility that the flu could cause more devastation in poor and disease-prone communities.
Countries with high rates of HIV -- most of which are in Africa -- should work to ensure that vulnerable people get the drugs they need to fight off the flu infection, the WHO said.
Antiviral medicines such as Tamiflu and Relenza decrease the duration of virus excretion and the severity of illness when used for treatment of ill patients, and may also prevent illness when used for prophylaxis.
"Patients at higher risk for complications of influenza including those with HIV infection should be among those prioritised for antiviral treatment with oseltamivir or zanamivir which shortens illness duration and severity in seasonal influenza," the WHO guidance read.
It is best if people infected with the flu strain start to take the antivirals within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms, according to the WHO. There are no known problems with taking those drugs alongside the anti-retrovirals that HIV patients take to suppress their virus.
According to WHO estimates, there are 33 million people infected with immune-weakening HIV worldwide. (For the full WHO guidance for HIV patient care, see: http://www.who.int/hiv/mediacentre/influenza_hiv.pdf) (For a factbox on global diseases, click on [ID:nL2430119]) (For more Reuters swine flu coverage, please click here: http://www.reuters.com/news/globalcoverage/swineflu ) news ## for search indexer, do not remove -->

Good Afternoon!!

By now you have heard about the infamous Swine Flu! In case you still need more info about it or confused, here are some facts about this epidemic that is affecting the world.

There have been two other epidemics of the swine flu.(1918 and 1976)

In response to an intensifying outbreak in the United States and internationally caused by a new influenza virus of swine origin, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 5 on April 29, 2009. A Phase 5 alert is a “strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short

What is swine flu?
Like people, pigs can get influenza (flu), but swine flu viruses aren't the same as human flu viruses. Swine flu doesn't often infect people, and the rare human cases that have occurred in the past have mainly affected people who had direct contact with pigs. But the current swine flu outbreak is different. It's caused by a new swine flu virus that has spread from person to person -- and it's happening among people who haven't had any contact with pigs.

What are swine flu symptoms?
Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. Those symptoms can also be caused by many other conditions, and that means that you and your doctor can't know, just based on your symptoms, if you've got swine flu. It takes a lab test to tell whether it's swine flu or some other condition.

If I think I have swine flu, what should I do? When should I see my doctor?
If you have flu symptoms, stay home, and when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterward, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. That will help prevent your flu from spreading.

If you've got flu symptoms, and you've recently been to a high-risk area like Mexico, CDC officials recommend that you see your doctor. If you have flu symptoms but you haven't been in a high-risk area, you can still see a doctor -- that's your call.

Keep in mind that your doctor will not be able to determine whether you have swine flu, but he or she would take a sample from you and send it to a state health department lab for testing to see if it's swine flu. If your doctor suspects swine flu, he or she would be able to write you a prescription for Tamiflu or Relenza. Those drugs may not be required; U.S. swine flu patients have made a full recovery without it.

I HOPE THIS HAS HELPED YOU! IF YOU HAVE ANY CONCERNS OR PROBLEMS, CONTACT YOUR LOCAL HEALTHCARE FACILITY OR DOCTOR!