In fact, the now-called H1N1 virus is not spread in food, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Here are some other facts I learned about H1N1 this week from various health professionals:

—H1N1 stands for "Hemagglutinin" with "1" strain protein and "Neuraminidase" with "1" strain protein, according to one of my medical co-workers. And that's all I'm going to say about that.

—H1N1 is a "pandemic" — an epidemic (sudden outbreak) that becomes widespread and affects a whole region, country or the world, as per my medical dictionary.

— H1N1 is a virus (not bacteria) that causes influenza (what we typically call the "flu").

—How do you know if you have the common flu or if you have H1N1? A lab test can tell, but many health officials are not recommending that. Rather, they recommend if we have flu-like symptoms to stay home and not go to work until we have no fever for at least 24 hours.

—What are the symptoms of H1N1? Fever between 99 degrees to 104 degrees that lasts for three days (sometimes as long as 4-8 days), aching muscles, cough, headache, joint aches, eye pain, feeling very tired, cold or having shaking chills, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose.

—Some very simple measures can keep the flu virus from spreading, according to Monterey County (Calif.) Public Health officials: 1) Don't cough or sneeze into your hands (use a tissue or even your sleeve or elbow). 2) Wash your hands often with soap and water! Or use a hand sanitizer. 3) Keep your hands out of your eyes, nose and mouth (duh).

—What is the "incubation period" (the time from when you are exposed to the virus to the time you first start to see symptoms) for the flu? About 2 to 4 days, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).  

—What does any of this have to do with nutrition? Ahhh, now that is an interesting question. A co-worker at our hospital forwarded me an intriguing article from the Virology Journal (really) that suggests vitamin D (or the lack thereof) may be related to the spread of viruses such as H1N1.

Here is the theory: Flu epidemics follow a "seasonal pattern" (more cases are reported in winter months, fewer in summer months). Seasons have to do with sunshine exposure (less in the winter, more in the summer). Vitamin D is the "sunshine vitamin" — produced when skin is exposed to sunlight.

Skin is our body's primary immune organ — it contains built-in systems that help defend us from foreign invaders such as flu viruses. Vitamin D — produced in the skin — has recently been found to have "robust effects" on the immune system.

Not everyone who gets exposed to the flu gets sick. Yet more people get the flu in the winter months, when there is less sunshine. Could it be that vitamin D (or the lack of it) is the "seasonal stimulus" that helps explain why more people get the flu in the winter?

It certainly is intriguing, even if we don't have all the answers. It reminds me of a book I read about the pioneers who traveled west. All the men were dying of cholera and no one could figure out why most of the women survived. They had the facts: The people who got sick were drinking water straight out of the river while those who survived (mostly women) preferred boiled water for tea and washing clothes. The connection was not made until years later when someone discovered bacteria in water that causes cholera and is killed by high heat.

So ... until we fully understand what one expert calls the "bizarre epidemiology of influenza" (we don't know why some people get it and others don't), I will remember to wash my hands often, stay home if I get sick, and try to get adequate vitamin D from a little sun exposure and in my diet. (Milk is fortified with vitamin D for example.)

A little immunity may go a long way to slowing down this potential pandemic.