Swine Flu Information, The Simple Precautions That Can Be Taken And What Treatments Are Available
Today we are more at a greater risk from various mutations of the influenza virus than we have for a very long time. First we had alarms over bird flu, but now swine flu has become a major health problem. Swine flu is a greater concern than bird flu. It was a worry that bird flu could mutate into a form that would become infectious in humans, thankfully, apart from a few cases, this has not occurred to date.
Swine flu is of much more concern, swine flu can pass from human to human making it an extremely serious health problem. Swine flu (influenza A (H1N1)) is a flu virus which infects pigs. Outbreaks of swine flu in pigs doesn’t usually infect humans but can occur occasionally.
Swine flu is a new type of virus and therefore is extremely dangerous to humans. No one has had contact with this particular strain before, and therefore no one has developed any immunity. It is our inbuilt immunity that stops viruses from becoming life threatening, with no built in immunity we have no defense from the virus. Absolutely everyone is susceptible, this includes healthy adults as well as children and elderly citizens.
Swine flu can easily result in a pandemic influenza situation. A pandemic flu situation occurs when a flu viral strain develops that is very different from previous flu strains that very few, if any, humans have any immunity to. This allows the influenza virus to spread rapidly in the population.
Pandemic flu is different from ordinary flu as detailed below. Seasonal flu occurs yearly, usually in the winter months. About between 10 and 15 percent of the population are effected and the vast majority will recover without treatment in 1 to 2 weeks.
Pandemic influenza affects many more people, it can be up to half the population, pandemic influenza is far more serious, all ages of people can be affected.
The symptoms of swine flu are very similar to the symptoms of seasonal influenza. These can include a sudden onset of fever, cough or shortness of breath. Symptoms that may present themselves can include headaches, sore throats, aching muscles, sneezing, chills, a runny nose, appetite loss and tiredness.
So what precautions should you take. Anyone displaying flu or cold symptoms should take a few easy, but very important precautions. The influenza virus spreads between people from the tiny droplets from the nose and mouth when someone sneezes or coughs. This is the way viruses such as swine flu are spread from person to person. Using your hands to cover your nose or mouth when you sneeze or cough is not effective enough. The germs remain on your hands, and everything you touch becomes contaminated with germs. Other people can touch these surfaces and become infected. Therefore, always use a handkerchief or disposable tissue. A disposable tissue is better, the tissue should be disposed of safely as soon as possible, try to always use a fresh tissue when you cough or sneeze again.
A vaccination for swine flu is not yet available. The vaccination against ordinary flu is not effective against swine flu. When a vaccination is discovered, it will take many months to manufacture, by which time the virus could have mutated again making a new vaccination ineffective.
The only real effective precaution against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu isn’t guaranteed to prevent flu, but when someone has been exposed to another individual who has the swine flu virus, Tamiflu will help to stop the flu virus making you ill. If Tamiflu is administered in the first 2 days of acquiring the flu virus, Tamiflu may help to stop the virus from spreading through the body, alleviating the symptoms and the risk associated with the virus. Governments are stocking Tamiflu, but these supplies will be used to treat important workers before the population at large.
You can buy Tamiflu online, so if the situation arises you are able to protect yourself and your family as much as is possible. Although it can’t be emphasized enough, Tamiflu does need to be administered as soon as is possible to be effective, any delays in treating the virus will diminish the effectiveness of Tamiflu.
Remember that swine flu is a worldwide danger. Should an outbreak become global it is possible that supplies of Tamiflu may be low and may possibly not meet a huge worldwide demand. Until such time that a vaccine is discovered and manufactured in the quantities required, Tamiflu is the most effective treatment for the swine flu virus, it would sensible to buy Tamiflu in advance if you think you are at risk.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information freely available in {the popular#the} media and medical articles concerned with swine flu. Nothing in this posting is meant to be or should be taken to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice you should consult with your own healthcare worker.
