Greetings,
This information was passed on to me, and in the interest of personal safety, I pass it on to you.
This strain of flu is no more dangerous than any other. There are approximately 20,000 deaths worldwide from all strains of the flu annually.
What can you do to protect yourself from the swine flue? Everything you’ve been told to do in order to avoid any other type of flu.
Is there special treatment for this strain of flu? No. It’s a virus, like any other flu. So stop the fear frenzy.
What is swine flu?
Like humans, pigs get the flu. They develop a sudden fever, a barking cough, sneezing, lethargy and typically lose their appetite.
Pigs usually don’t die from swine flu; their flu viruses cause high levels of illness but low death rates.
Swine influenza viruses circulate among pigs throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter, just like with outbreaks in humans.
Most swine flu viruses belong to the Influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes.
Can humans catch swine flu?
Normally, swine flu bugs don’t infect people. When they do, it’s been in people who have direct contact with pigs; historically, there’s such a case every year or two in the U.S.
Between Dec. 2005 and Feb. 2009, there were12 human swine flu infections in the U.S. – about four a year.
It’s possible this uptick was due to improved reporting systems, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says “genetic changes in swine flu viruses and other factors might also be a factor.”
Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in the U.S. and internationally have been identified.
Can humans pass swine flu?
Usually no. But what makes this new outbreak worrisome is that in all the recent cases, none had any direct contact with pigs.
Two of the new cases were among 16-year-olds at the same school in San Antonio and there’s a father-daughter pair in California, said CDC’s Dr. Anne Schuchat.
Is this a new kind of swine flu?
Yes. The CDC reports that the virus in these latest cases is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans.
The influenza A H1N1 virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses.
Although it’s called swine flu, this new strain is not infecting pigs and has never been seen in pigs.
Why would a new strain be worrisome?
Epidemiologists have been warning for years that it’s just a matter of time before a new strain of the flu emerges that has the potential to kill millions. Flu pandemics have historically occurred about three times per century and the world hasn’t seen one in more than 40 years.
If an influenza virus changes and becomes a new strain against which people have little or no immunity — and this new strain is easily spread from person to person — many people around the world could become ill and die.
The World Health Organization estimates that in the best case scenario, the next pandemic could kill two to seven million people and send tens of millions to hospital.
Is there a vaccine?
There is a vaccine available that can be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. But there is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu.
I got the flu shot this year. Am I protected?
No. H1N1 swine flu viruses are very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.
Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food; you cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
Symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of our regular flu, with sudden onset of:
Fever
Lethargy
Lack of appetite
Coughing
Some people with swine flu also have reported:
Runny nose
Sore throat
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
How is the virus transmitted?
Human-to-human transmission of swine flu is believed to occur the same way as seasonal flu, mainly through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus.
People also can become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
Can we treat swine flu in humans?
Yes. Most swine influenza viruses have been treated with antiviral medications.
The virus from the most recent U.S. swine flu cases appeared to be resistant to amantadine and rimantadine but were susceptible to zanamivir and oseltamivir (Tamiflu).
Have there been swine flu outbreaks before?
Yes. Most famously, there was an outbreak in 1976 at Fort Dix, N.J., among military recruits that grabbed big headlines at the time.
Worried that they had the beginning of a pandemic on their hands, U.S. officials ordered the manufacture of swine flu vaccine and the country launched a mass immunization program that saw about 40 million people vaccinated.
But the outbreak didn’t turn into a pandemic and went away as mysteriously as it appeared.
Sincerely,
Thomas “Trapper” Sherwood
http://sherwoodlocksmithing.com
Help a single Dad defray the cost of his daughter's winter travel volleyball. Thanks!
