Swine Flu / Swine Influenza

What is Swine Flu?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans.

 

The 2009 flu outbreak in humans is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that derives in part from human influenza, avian influenza, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origins of this new strain are unknown. It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation. The strain in most cases causes only mild symptoms and the infected person makes a full recovery without requiring medical attention and without the use of antiviral medicines.

 

Why is there so much panic about Swine Flu? After all it's just a flu!

The most significant flu pandemic occurred in 1918/1919. The global mortality rate from the 1918/1919 pandemic is not known, but is estimated at 2.5 to 5% of those who were infected died. With 20% or more of the world population suffering from the disease to some extent, a case-fatality ratio this high would mean that about 0.5-1% that 50 million to 100 million people worldwide were killed. In 1957, an Asian flu pandemic infected some 45 million Americans and killed 70,000. Eleven years later, lasting from 1968 to 1969, the Hong Kong flu pandemic afflicted 50 million Americans and caused 33,000 deaths, costing approximately $3.9 billion. In 1976, about 500 soldiers became infected with swine flu over a period of a few weeks.

The scare and panic about the bird flu and swine flu have occurred because people now know what a simple flu can lead to and are afraid of the consequences - not just to the human capital but also to the global financial health.

Swine Flu Symptoms

The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Symptoms of Swine flu may including all or some of the following:

• Fever
• Muscle aches
• Lethargy
• Coughing
• Headache
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
• Lack of appetite

Complications Of Swine Influenza

Those at higher risk of catching influenza in general include those with the following:

* Age of 65 years or older
* Chronic health problems (such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease)
* Pregnant women
* Young children

But the past epidemics and pandemics of flu have shown that during pandemics most people that are affected are healthy young adults.

Complications of Swine Flu can include:

* Pneumonia
* Bronchitis
* Sinus infections
* Ear infections
* Death

Transmission of Swine Flu (How does Swine Flu spread?)

As with other flu like illnesses, Swine influenza is spread as follows:

• Coughing
• Sneezing
• Kissing
• Touching infected objects
• Touching nose, mouth and/or eyes with infected hands
• Swine flu does not spread by eating pork.

Treatment of Swine Flu

Swine Flu Vaccination / Swine Flu Shot

The protective ability of influenza vaccines depends primarily on the closeness of the match between the vaccine virus and the epidemic virus, so the presence of non reactive H3N2 SIV variants suggests that current commercial vaccines might not effectively protect pigs from infection with a majority of H3N2 viruses. The current vaccine against the seasonal influenza strain H1N1 is thought unlikely to provide protection. The director of CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases said that the United States' cases were found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses—North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza A virus subtype H1N1, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe.

What You Can Do to Prevent Swine Flu?

There are everyday actions people can take to stay healthy.

* Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
* Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

* Influenza is thought to spread mainly person-to-person through coughing or sneezing of infected people.
* If you get sick, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Above all. Don't get stressed by the fear of getting the swine flu. Stress can undermine your immune system. The flu doesn't kill everyone and in most cases may prove benign. Mild exercise, meditation or yoga and healthy nutritious diet can help keep your immune system in good condition and able to ward of any infections. Not every 'infection' becomes a full blown 'disease'. Most infections are taken care of by your body even before you know that you were infected. Most infections affect gravely those people who are vitally deranged. So instead of panicking about the flu, stay calm and focus on becoming a healthy 'you'.