Swine Flu

Influenza or flu is not just common in people, but in animals as well. Very recently we’ve come across many such animal influenza types that have been affecting people such as swine flu and bird flu. Presently Swine Flu have become a pandemic around the world.

What is Swine Flu?

Swine flu is basically a respiratory infection which is caused by the influenza A viruses that are primarily known to be the cause of diseases in pigs.  Humans are affected by swine flu virus from the infected pigs, but any case of the virus being transmitted from pig to human is unheard of. However, human-to-human swine flu transmission is possible but is not frequent.

The recent swine flu pandemic has created havoc in many nations and especially in Mexico. This particular type of swine flu involves H1N1 type A influenza virus, which is something new. This particular influenza strain is a genetic combination of avian, swine as well as human influenza viruses. It has the capability of spreading from one human to another.

Swine flu wasn’t really common in people; it mainly affected those people who have been in direct contact with swine or pigs until recently. But the recent outbreak of swine flu seems to be quite different from what people have witnessed in the past. It has been affecting those people as well who have not been in contact with pigs, and that is what made this flu type a human flu virus. The CDC has reportedly termed the recent swine flu outbreak virus as the “novel influenza A (H1N1) virus” to mark a distinction between the virus affecting pigs and the seasonal flu A H1N1 virus.

Swine flu viruses are likely to circulate among the swines all over the year, but most of the outbreaks occur during the winter months, quite similar to the outbreaks occurring in humans. In the year 1930 the classical type A influenza H1N1 virus was isolated from a swine for the first time.

Types

There isn’t any distinct swine flu type, but there are different viruses that have been isolated from pigs in the recent past. Like all other viruses causing flu, swine flu viruses also change constantly. Pigs can as well be infected by the avian influenza viruses or the human influenza viruses or the swine flu viruses. When the influenza viruses from various species contaminate pigs, the viruses can easily re-assort or swap genes and some new viruses that would be a blend of human, avian and swine might emerge. Over all these years, different swine flu virus types have surfaced. Right now, there are 4 key influenza type A virus types: H1N1, H1N2, H3N1. Of all these virus types, the H1N1 influenza type A virus has been recently isolated from pigs.

Symptoms of Swine Flu

The symptoms of swine flu are very much like that of common flu symptoms that includes

Many people suffering from swine flu have reported vomiting and diarrhea as well. Nearly every person suffering from swine flu is likely to have at least three or more of the aforementioned symptoms. But all these symptoms might be caused due to some other conditions as well. As these are very common symptoms of influenza, you might overlook the same and that would aggravate the conditions further.

The symptoms of swine would develop only 3-5 days later from the day you’ve been exposed to the deadly virus and will continue for a week or more. The virus can easily be passed on to other people from the very day of being infected and for approximately 8 days until the time the patient recuperates.

As soon as you identify the symptoms of flu, you must immediately consult your doctor and more so if you traveled to any of the areas where the H1N1 swine flu cases have been reported.

Diagnosis

If a person develops respiratory symptoms after coming into close contact with a person suffering from flu, he/she should immediately seek medical help to check for the presence of H1N1 virus. Doctors would perform some rapid tests for identifying the underlying cause of the symptoms. However, there isn’t any test for differentiating the swine flu A H1N1 virus from the usual influenza A virus subtypes.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control and Prevention) however recommends 2 steps for diagnosing swine flu:

1. Respiratory sample of the patient is collected during the initial days (first five days) of the illness.
2. This sample is then forwarded to the CDC for laboratory test a, analysis and confirmation of the virus.

Treatment

Most of the cases of influenza including swine flu do not require any rigorous treatment other than some drugs to relieve the symptoms. If a person is suffering from chronic respiratory symptoms, the doctors would prescribe some additional medications for decreasing the inflammation and for opening the airways and allowing the clearance of lung secretions.

Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu are often prescribed for reducing the symptoms and its severity. There are two primary classes of antiviral medications used – neuraminidase inhibitors and adamantine antiviral.

Human swine flu is treated with zanamivir (Relenza) and oseltamivir (Tamiflu), which are both neuraminidase inhibitors. It is extremely important to start the treatment once the person is ill. These drugs are very effective when given to the patient within 48 hours from the time the symptoms start developing.

Prevention

Some of these steps mentioned below can be taken for preventing swine flu:

• Cover the mouth and nose with a clean tissue while you sneeze or cough and make sure you dispose the tissue upon use.
• Avoid coming into contact with ill people.
• Do not touch your mouth, nose or eyes frequently.
• Stay at home if you feel ill or any of the symptoms of flu manifest.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with alcohol based soap and water particularly after sneezing or coughing.
• People who are ill or are exhibiting the symptoms must use masks.
• People having swine flu or suspected if the same must wear face mask to prevent the disease from spreading.
• Asthmatics should be more vigilant and make sure there preventative medication is taken daily.

These days prevention is better then cure, two natural products, Kaloba and Sambucus have been proven to work against winter viruses by boosting the body’s immune system. Both of these preparation are kid friendly so the entire family can all  take it.

Another important measure is to make sure your child does not have excess fever during the flu season which can lead to dehydration and convulsions. Monitor their temperature regularly if they feel unwell especially in babies and toddlers. We recommend a digital instant ear thermometer such as the Omron gentle temp thermometer or Braun Thermoscan which is fast and accurate and best of all you using the same modern technology as your doctors surgery.

Proper analysis and public education can help in identifying, treating as well as minimizing this worldwide epidemic.

Experts all around the world are working hard in collaboration with WHO to determine the risks associated with the disease and to prevent occurrence in an effort to ensure good global public health.