Swine Flu(H1N1 Flu)

Swine flu is an infection caused by a virus. It's named for a virus that pigs can get. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. The virus is contagious and can spread from human to human. Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
There are antiviral medicines you can take to prevent or treat swine flu. There is a vaccine available to protect against swine flu. You can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza by
Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. You can also use alcohol-based hand cleaners.
Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Trying to avoid close contact with sick people.
Staying home from work or school if you are sick.
During the week of October 18-24, 2009, influenza activity continued to increase in the United States as reported in FluView. Flu activity is now widespread in 48 states. Nationally, visits to doctors for influenza-like-illness continue to increase steeply and are now higher than what is seen at the peak of many regular flu seasons. In addition, flu-related hospitalizations and deaths continue to go up nation-wide and are above what is expected for this time of year.How is swine flu (H1N1) diagnosed?

Swine flu is presumptively diagnosed clinically by the patient's history of association with people known to have the disease and their symptoms listed above. Usually, a quick test (for example, nasopharyngeal swab sample) is done to see if the patient is infected with influenza A or B virus. Most of the tests can distinguish between A and B types. The test can be negative (no flu infection) or positive for type A and B. If the test is positive for type B, the flu is not likely to be swine flu (H1N1). If it is positive for type A, the person could have a conventional flu strain or swine flu (H1N1). However, the accuracy of these tests has been challenged, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has not completed their comparative studies of these tests. However, a new test developed by the CDC and a commercial company reportedly can detect H1N1 reliably in about one hour; as of October 2009, the test is only available to the military.Swine flu (H1N1) is definitively diagnosed by identifying the particular antigens associated with the virus type. In general, this test is done in a specialized laboratory and is not done by many doctors' offices or hospital laboratories. However, doctors' offices are able to send specimens to specialized laboratories if necessary. Because of the large number of novel H1N1 swine flu cases (as of October 2009, the vast majority of flu cases [about 99%] are due to novel H1N1 flu viruses), the CDC recommends only hospitalized patients' flu virus strains be sent to reference labs to be identified.


What treatment is available for swine (H1N1) flu?

The best treatment for influenza infections in humans is prevention by vaccination. Work by several laboratories has recently produced vaccines. The first vaccine released in early October 2009 was a nasal spray vaccine. It is approved for use in healthy individuals ages 2 through 49. This vaccine consists of a live attenuated H1N1 virus and should not be used in anyone who is pregnant or immunocompromised. The injectable vaccine, made from killed H1N1, became available in the second week of October. This vaccine is approved for use in ages 6 months to the elderly, including pregnant females. Both of these vaccines have been approved by the CDC only after they had conducted clinical trials to prove that the vaccines were safe and effective. However, caregivers should be aware of the vaccine guidelines that come with the vaccines, as occasionally, the guidelines change. Please see the sections below titled "Can novel H1N1 swine flu be prevented with a vaccine?" and the timeline update for the current information on the vaccines.

Two antiviral agents have been reported to help prevent or reduce the effects of swine flu. They are zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu), both of which are also used to prevent or reduce influenza A and B symptoms. These drugs should not be used indiscriminately, because viral resistance to them can and has occurred. Also, they are not recommended if the flu symptoms already have been present for 48 hours or more, although hospitalized patients may still be treated past the 48-hour guideline. Severe infections in some patients may require additional supportive measures such as ventilation support and treatment of other infections like pneumonia that can occur in patients with a severe flu infection. The CDC has suggested in their interim guidelines that pregnant females can be treated with the two antiviral agents.

Thanks a lot for sharing such useful information with all of us.
I believe that we can save ourselves from swine flu just by following a few precautions. It is truly said that "Precaution is better than cure"
What you say?

Swine flu is a respiratory disease, caused by influenza type A, which infects pigs. There are many types, and the infection is constantly changing.

Until now it has not normally infected humans, but the latest formclearly does, and can be spread from person to person - probably through coughing and sneezing. The World Health Organization has confirmed that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A.

H1N1 is the same strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis. But this latest version of H1N1 is different: it contains genetic material that is typically found in strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine. Flu viruses have the ability to swap genetic components with each other, and it seems likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a mixing of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the same animal host. Pigs provide an excellent ‘melting pot’ for these viruses tomix and match with each other.

Symptoms of swine flu in humans appear to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu. These include fever, cough, sore throat, body
aches, chills and fatigue.

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