Tag: Sars

How Serious Is Swine Flu?

The United Kingdom has become the latest country to confirm cases of the swine flu. At the same time, the World Health Organization has raised its alert level from 3 to 4. With 150 people already killed in Mexico, the WHO revealed that the influenza virus has the sustainability for human-to-human transmission and can cause community level outbreaks.

One can recall a similar outbreak known as bird flu which was more risky than H1N1 virus. According to Professor Neil Ferguson of the World Health Organization, H1N1 is nothing when compared to other similar outbreaks such as SARS or the 1918 Spanish flu.

According to the professor, the evidence is clear that the United Kingdom is headed for a swine influenza pandemic in the coming months. However, it would be difficult to determine the extent of the epidemic since this is usually the time of the year when flu is prominent in the United Kingdom.

It is likewise almost sure that if the H1N1 outbreak disappears in the coming weeks, there might still be an outbreak of the virus in the autumn. If the situation indeed transforms into an epidemic, then 30% – 40% of the general population might become susceptible to infection. Professor Ferguson believes that any outbreak might become longer since the summer season in the United Kingdom is fast approaching.

On the other hand, Sir Liam Donaldson, who is concurrent Chief Medical Officer for England, believes that this new strain of H1N1 virus is something which people has natural immunity and has not received any vaccination yet. For this reason, one becomes susceptible to infection and spread to other people.
However, there is no sufficient information about the virus yet and H1N1 is still a subject of studies by major laboratories in the world. Once there is sufficient information about the virus, only then can it be possible to make improved predictions about individuals who are at higher risk and likely to have serious complications.

At present, the situation in Mexico is creating confusion and it is hard to make a firm a conclusion about what is likely to happen. In any case, there is a need to be ready for any untoward incidents that may happen.

Professor John Oxford, meanwhile, believes that the H1N1 outbreak is not as alarming as the H5N1 bird flu virus. He believes that the country can provide the basic H1N1 immunity for the population. The outbreaks outside of Mexico have not resulted to deaths which is an indication that the virus is not that aggressive.

Aside from that, the summer months is fast approaching so it is less probable for the H1N1 virus to cause an outbreak as well. In any case, the United Kingdom has enough antiviral medicines to treat half of the population.

With this in mind, there is no cause for worry about the H1N1 virus, as it appears that it would cause an outbreak that would be felt all over the world and increase mortality rates.

The outbreak of H1N1 began in Mexico City and as of today has resulted to the death of 42 people and more than 800 confirmed cases of swine flu infection. Although it has now spread in 22 countries, it is believed that this new virus outbreak would not be result to a pandemic and is milder than similar virus infections.

The Lowdown on The 2009 Swine Flu Outbreak

The 2009 outbreak of swine flu or H1N1 virus is recently hugging the limelight due to the potential harm or effects it can have on a patient or on a community. Unfortunately, the source of the virus still cannot be traced.

Before the first case in the United States was discovered, the illness was believed to have started in Mexico which eventually spread to other countries. Recently, the first case of swine flu was reported in
Costa Rica. Alarmed that it could grow into a worldwide flu epidemic, the World Health Organization of the United Nations and the Center for Disease Control Prevention (CDC) in the United States raised its pandemic alert level to Phase 5, which signifies that a “pandemic is imminent.”
While experts believed that the recent outbreak is not as fatal as previous epidemics, such as the SARS virus, health officials believe that the number of cases could go up as the new flu is expected to make its way throughout the United States.

The new swine influenza strain is apparently a new variant of four strains of influenza A virus subtype H1N1. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one of the strain is endemic in humans and birds and a couple are endemic in pigs.

However, according to scientists the 2009 H1N1 outbreak is of swine origin which is associated with the virus isolated in North America in 1998. To hasten understanding of the current outbreak as well as in coming up with a vaccine, scientists from Canada have completed the full genetic sequencing of the H1N1 virus.

The new strain of H1N1 has become widespread in Mexico and the United States with confirmed cases in 18 countries and suspected cases in 42 others. Travelers have been warned not to travel to affected countries such as Iceland, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, to name a few.

In addition, warnings have also been issued warnings to visitors of countries affected by the outbreak. It is advisable for visitors to see the doctor right away if they experience flu-like symptoms.
In Mexico, schools, universities, and all public events were suspended from April 24 to May 6, 2009. In the United States, over 400 schools were closed as of May 3, 2009, which included schools in Texas and about 250,000 confirmed or probable cases.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, who is the Assistant Director-General for Health Securiy and Environment of the World Health Organization confirmed that efforts to control the outbreak is already too late and should now focus on lessening the effects of the virus. He also clarified that closing borders or limiting travel to infected areas will do little in stopping the spread of the H1N1 virus.

On April 28, 2009, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that as much as possible, people should avoid non-important travel to Mexico.

According to Dr. Ira Longini, who is an expert in the mathematics and statistics of epidemics, staying at home, seeking medical care, closing public venues, and making anti-flu medicines accessible can help reduce the sickness by almost two-thirds.

Finally, according to Dr. Longini, the focus of efforts is to slow transmission until there is a vaccine that can be developed and made available for controlling swine flu outbreaks.

The Latest Killer Flu: Swine Flu And You

The Center for Disease Control has probably had some very wild times this past decade. First SARS, then the bird fle, and now today’s potential epidemic is the swine flu. First manifesting itself in Mexico this past April, this new and terrible strain of Type A H1N1 influenza is one of those things that every microbiologist and health care professional is afraid of.

The reason for that fear is pretty simple. Like the bird flu, this particular strain crossed species. Specifically, it crossed over from the swine population, a species that has an in-built resistance to it, to the human population, a population that does not. If this spreads and becomes a full blown epidemic, the swine flu may reach the heights of the 1918 Spanish Flu, which killed fifty to a hundred million people worldwide and devastated the post-World War I generation.

The CDC has stepped up its alert levels and some governments have instituted quarantine procedures, but still more and more cases are emerging across the world. Mexico City has most of the fatalities though, with most other cases outside of city being less severe in symptoms. However, this is just a month into the outbreak and anything can still happen. With the continuing spread of the disease, let’s talk about how this affects you.

Let’s be honest here, after all that I’ve just said, there’s actually no real reason to panic. Actually, we shouldn’t panic. That’s because panic just confuses people and to deal effectively with something of this magnitude, being confused is not the state of mind you want to be in. What you really need to be is to be aware and knowledgeable about what you’re dealing with. This and quick ddecisive action is what got the world through SARS and the bird flu, and it most likely will help us make sure that the swine flu isn’t the one that kills us all.

The swine flu is pretty much like your normal human flu. It has all the same infection vectors, all the same symptoms, and all the same treatments. It’s all just heightened by a factor of two, mostly because humans haven’t any natural resistance to the disease. If you want to avoid getting infected do all the same things that you’d do to avoid getting the flu: wash your hands regularly, take your vitamins, and avoid sick people.

If you somehow get sick, it’s not the time to run around like a headless chicken. You immediately isolate yourself so you won’t infect others and observe your symptoms, all of the while taking your regular flu medicine. Note that even if it is called swine flu, it’s still a virus and antiviral drugs are pretty effective in putting a dent in the symptoms you may experience and help your immune system kick the infection out.

It your symptoms persist despite your efforts, you better start calling for a doctor. Don’t worry if it really is the swine flu – the CDC has recommended the use of antiviral inhibitors that help stop the reproduction of the disease and the sickness is definitely treatable.

Let’s all just remember that the swine flu maybe deadly, but it’s still just a disease. And the only things you need to have to beat a disease is being smart and being careful. With all the noise that the media brings up about it, that fact may get lost in the shuffle. Remember it and it may just save your life.

Swine Flu: The New Pandemic

Everyone’s all abuzz with panic nowadays it seems. That’s mostly because after SARS and bird flu, another new strain of virus has managed to rear its head. The H1N1 influenza virus, more popularly known as the swine flu, exploded on to the global scene last April via a large-scale infection in Mexico City.

I think everyone’s seen the images on CNN a thousand time. Surgical-masked Mexicans crowding the hospitals with worrisome shots of full hospital beds.The Center for Disease Control and the World Health Organization raised their alert levels in hopes of catching and cutting off the infection at the bud, but it seems that cases have been reported all over the world. It seems that the current fatalities from disease are from Mexico but everyone is just expecting for the other shoe to drop.

To understand all of this panic, ypou need to have a little background. Influenza, or more popularly known as the flu, is probably one of the most infectious diseases out there. Airborne and highly contagious, it could spread like wildfire all across the world. Now you’re asking what’s the matter with a few people getting a bit of sniffles? That’s because this isn’t your ordinary flu.

A lot of the flu viruses we are exposed to have been in the human system for hundreds of years. We’ve managed to build an immunity to these strains. The big problem that’s got everyone running scared is the idea that a flu strain has crossed species. This is what happened with the bird flu and now, with the swine flu. The pigs and birds have also built up resistances to these diseases, however, since humans are not used to them, these strains of flu have a very large potential of being fatal.

The last time a large-scale flu epidemic raged around the world, electricity was just coming into vogue and cars were all Model Ts. The Spanish Flu Epidemic of 1918 literally set the bar for every modern disease in terms of casualties. Fifty to a hundred million people worldwide died over a period of two years from 1918 to 1920 as the disease spread worldwide. Following on the heels of the Great War, it was a one-two punch that killed an entire generation of young men and women. What everyone’s afraid of is this: the 1918 epidemic was a subtype of the H1N1 flu virus, the same virus that seems to have crossed over and become a real threat to humans.

This is why the CDC is keeping a close watch on Mexico and hoping all of the subsidiary cases worldwide aren’t indications of the beginning of some worldwide epidemic. The good news about this is that the disease is treatable. Medicine and vaccine production alerts have been sent out by the CDC and most pharmaceutical companies have started churning out oseltamivir and zanamivir.

The problem with that is the demand may outstrip the supply depending on the swine flu’s virulence. More common antiviral drugs are also available but they’re not exactly definitive cures. They serve to weaken the symptoms and give you a fighting chance and prevent some of the worse flu symptoms like diarrhea and vomiting.

So as the world waits and watches the situation in Mexico, it would be a good idea to take a few precautions. Regular hand washes and vitamins can help make sure you avoid the initial infection of the swine flu. Avoiding pork’s not needed though. Swine flu can’t be transmitted through food. Remember to just a take a few preventive measures and you can come through clean and healthy.