The H1N1 flu virus caused a world-wide pandemic in 2009. It is now a human seasonal flu virus that also circulates in pigs.
The H1N1 virus is currently a seasonal flu virus found in humans. Although it also circulates in pigs, you cannot get it by eating properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
- While the H1N1 viruses have continued to circulate since the pandemic, 2014 is the first season since 2009 that H1N1 has been so predominant in the United States.
- Getting the flu vaccine is your best protection against H1N1.
- You cannot get H1N1 from properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
- Symptoms of H1N1 are similar to seasonal flu symptoms.
What is H1N1 flu?
H1N1 is a flu virus. When it was first detected in 2009, it was called “swine flu” because the virus was similar to those found in pigs.The H1N1 virus is currently a seasonal flu virus found in humans. Although it also circulates in pigs, you cannot get it by eating properly handled and cooked pork or pork products.
What are the symptoms of H1N1 flu?
Flu symptoms include:- A 100oF or higher fever or feeling feverish (not everyone with the flu has a fever)
- A cough and/or sore throat
- A runny or stuffy nose
- Headaches and/or body aches
- Chills
- Fatigue
- Nausea, vomiting, and/or diarrhea (most common in children)
How does H1N1 flu spread?
Most experts believe that you get the flu when a person with the flu
coughs, sneezes, or talks and droplets containing their germs land in
your mouth or nose. You can also get the flu by touching a surface or object that has the flu virus on it and then touching your mouth, eyes, or nose.
How can I prevent H1N1 flu?
There are steps you can take in your daily life to help protect you from getting the flu.- Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Practice good health habits. Get plenty of sleep and exercise, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat healthy food.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.
I have H1N1. What should I do?
You can treat flu symptoms by:- Getting plenty of rest
- Drinking clear fluids like water, broth, sports drinks, or electrolyte beverages to prevent becoming dehydrated
- Placing a cool, damp washcloth on your forehead, arms, and legs to reduce discomfort associated with a fever
- Putting a humidifier in your room to make breathing easier
- Gargling salt water (1:1 ratio warm water to salt) to soothe a sore throat
- Covering up with a warm blanket to calm chills
- And reach to your health care provider immediately.
Who's most at risk?
ReplyDelete1. Children aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday (but the younger the child the higher the risk)
2. Pregnant women
3. People 50 years of age and older
4. People of any age with certain medical conditions, such as heart or lung disease (asthma, COPD, emphysema), diabetes or those with weakened immune systems.
I think any person with weak immune system is most vulnerable to this contagious flu
DeleteFacts about swine flu : -
ReplyDelete1. The 2009 swine flu outbreak was first observed in Mexico.
2. Vaccination is the best way to reduce the chances of becoming infected with influenza viruses.
3. Two antiviral agents, zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu), reduce the effects of swine flu if taken within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms.
4.The face mask is not recommended as a precautionary means during swine flu.
5.Confusion in also one of the symptoms of swine flu in adults.
6. Swine flu virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs in the United States: H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2.
7. Swine flu vaccination is mandatory for Active-duty military and Defense Department personnel in U.S.
8.Swine flu has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork.
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ReplyDeleteWhat are the prognosis and the complications that the patients has to undergo?
ReplyDeleteGenerally, the major section of people infected by this disease have drastic impact on their health but recover with no problems, as seen in patients in Mexico, the U.S., and many other countries.
Patients with a weak immune systems historically had to go through severe consequences than uncompromised individuals. The Medical authority is in uncertainty that as swine flu will spreads, the mortality rates may also rise.in accordance to the present graphic, the current data suggests that pregnant women, children, young adults, and individuals with weaker immune are vulnerable to have a worse prognosis.
Symptoms of swine flu may result in severe viral pneumonia. The basic symptoms of this disease is like the common flue which includes high fever, nausea, vomiting etc. but this symptoms are intensified when the patient is already suffering from other acute disease like cardiac problems, diabetes, or respiratory. The symptoms of this disease can be fatal with cardiac and respiratory patients, as in many cases the cardiac patients died of suffocation; especially patients who were also an asthma patient.
Pneumonia (viral and secondary bacterial pneumonia), is the most serious complication of the flu as it can cause death. Other complications include sinus and ear infections, asthma exacerbations, and/or bronchitis.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteSwine Flu:10 facts one should know.
ReplyDelete#1 Swine flu or H1N1 type A influenza is transmitted from people and NOT from pigs or swines.
#2 If you have normal immunity, you may not be prone to swine flu.
#3 People who are at high-risk include very young children, pregnant women, diabetics, people with heart conditions and those whose immune systems may be weak and compromised.
#4 Sudden fever of more than 100 degree Fahrenheit, fatigue, chills, headaches, cough and sneezing, sore throat, diarrhoea, loss of appetite are some of the symptoms of swine flu.
#5 One cannot exactly know that he/she is suffering from swine flu because the symptoms are very similar to regular flu. If you have very high fever for more than a day or two, sudden breathlessness, you should contact your doctor immediately.
#6 If you already have fever, it’s better to stay at home in order to prevent the disease from spreading. Always cover your face while coughing and sneezing. Avoid touching your face, nose and eyes often. It can also spread through inanimate objects like the mobile phone, laptop etc. which we end up frequently using. So, it’s better to avoid using others’ belongings. In case of sore throat, gargle with warm salt water.
#7 It is possible to prevent swine flu. Maintain your health and immunity well. Eat healthy food, get good sleep, avoid stress. Avoid visiting crowded public places if you can. If you do visit them, wash your hands and feet well. Better still, just take a shower.
#8 Though injectable vaccines (Influvac, Agrippal, Vaxigrip, Vaxiflu-S and Fluarix) against swine flu are available, the Government has ruled out universal vaccination for now and has recommended that it be used only for people who are actively treating the swine flu patients (doctors and other medical practitioners).
#9 Swine flu can only be diagnosed for sure in labs. It is 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.
#10 There are certain antiviral drugs which help treat swine flu – Zanamivir (Relenza) and Oseltamivir (Tamiflu).One should take these only with a doctor’s prescription since indiscriminate use could lead to resistance to the virus. The patient will need to hospitalized, isolated and put on a ventilator in severe cases.
Some other facts about Swine Flu
ReplyDelete1. The CDC recommends real time PCR as the method of choice for diagnosing H1N1
2. The H1N1 virus is found to be resistant to antiparkinsons drug (Amantadine)
3. Swine influenza was first proposed to be a disease related to human flu during the 1918 flu pandemic, when pigs became ill at the same time as humans
4. People don't get virus from properly handled pork items.
5. Some studies shows that Swine Flu virus has not mutated yet so it is the same old virus world is dealing with.
Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human flu, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human flu, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection.
ReplyDeleteAround the mid-20th century, identification of influenza subtypes became possible, allowing accurate diagnosis of transmission to humans. Since then, only 50 such transmissions have been confirmed. These strains of swine flu rarely pass from human to human. Symptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.
In August 2010, the World Health Organization declared the swine flu pandemic officially over.
Cases of swine flu have been reported in India 2015, with Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor testing positive. This has cited fears that the pandemic may have returned.People who work with poultry and swine, especially those with intense exposures, are at increased risk of zoonotic infection with influenza virus endemic in these animals, and constitute a population of human hosts in which zoonosis and reassortment can co-occur. Vaccination of these workers against influenza and surveillance for new influenza strains among this population may therefore be an important public health measure. Transmission of influenza from swine to humans who work with swine was documented in a small surveillance study performed in 2004 at the University of Iowa. This study, among others, forms the basis of a recommendation that people whose jobs involve handling poultry and swine be the focus of increased public health surveillance. Other professions at particular risk of infection are veterinarians and meat processing workers, although the risk of infection for both of these groups is lower than that of farm workers.