Information About The Swine Flu Virus, The Precautions That Should Be Taken And The Treatments Available
Written by Post on February 6th, 2010 in Health & Fitness.
Today we are more at at more risk from the various mutations of the flu virus than we have previously. 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 ever was. It was a worry that bird flu may change into a form that could infect humans, apart from a few isolated cases, this has not occurred.
Swine flu is of more concern, it can spread from human to human making it a very serious threat. What is swine flu. Swine flu, or influenza A (H1N1), is a respiratory disease that effects pigs, swine flu is caused by a flu virus. Outbreaks of swine flu in pigs is quite common but is only rarely fatal. Swine flu does not usually infect people, although it can happen occasionally when humans have been in close contact with infected pigs.
Swine flu is particularly dangerous to people because it is a previously unknown strain of virus. No one has been in contact with this strain previously, which means no one has developed any immunity to this particular strain. With no built in immunity a virus can be life threatening because our bodies are unable to defend against the virus. Everyone is vulnerable, this includes healthy adults as well as young children and senior citizens.
Swine flu could easily result in a pandemic influenza situation. Pandemic flu occurs when an influenza virus develops that is dissimilar to previous influenza strains that very few, if any, humans have any immunity to. This allows the influenza virus to spread rapidly in the population.
Seasonal flu and swine flu differ as detailed below Ordinary flu happens annually, mainly in the winter months. Approximately between 10 and 15 percent of the population will be effected and the majority will recover with no treatment in 1 to 2 weeks.
A pandemic influenza outbreak affects more of the population with up to half of all people affected. Pandemic Influenza affects people of all ages.
The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of ordinary influenza. These symptoms include sudden onset of fever, a cough or a shortness of breath. Other symptoms that may present themselves can include headache, sore throat, muscle aches, chills, sneezing, a runny nose, appetite loss and tiredness.
Precautions to take. First, anyone with cold or flu symptoms needs to take a few simple, but very important precautions. The influenza virus spreads between people from the tiny droplets from the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes. This is how viruses are spread through the population. Covering your mouth or nose with your hands when you sneeze or cough is not effective enough. The virus remain on your hands, and everything you touch becomes contaminated with the virus. Anyone touching the same place as you will pick up the germs and then risks becoming infected. Therefore, always use a handkerchief or tissue. A tissue is far better, this should be disposed as soon as possible, try to always use a new tissue if you sneeze or cough again.
A vaccination for swine flu is not yet available. The vaccination for ordinary influenza is not effective against swine flu. When a vaccination is found, it will take many months to make, and by that time the virus may have mutated again making the new vaccination ineffective.
The best precaution you are able to take against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu isn’t guaranteed to prevent swine flu, but after someone has been exposed to someone else who has the swine flu virus, Tamiflu can help in stopping the virus making a person sick. If Tamiflu is taken within 2 days of getting the swine flu virus, it can help to stop the virus from spreading through the body, alleviating the symptoms and the risk associated with the swine flu virus. Governments are stockpiling Tamiflu, these supplies will naturally be used to treat key workers before the population at large.
however you buy Tamiflu online, if the situation occurs you can give as much protection as is possible to yourself and loved ones. It can’t be emphasized enough, Tamiflu needs to be taken as early as is possible for it to be effective, any delays in treatment will reduce how effective Tamiflu is.
Remember, swine flu is a global danger. If a pandemic outbreak becomes global it is a possibility that supplies of Tamiflu could be diminished and may possibly not be enough to meet a large worldwide demand. Until such time that a vaccine is found and manufactured in the amounts needed, Tamiflu is the only really effective treatment for the swine flu virus, it would therefore be prudent to buy Tamiflu beforehand if you think you may be at risk.
Disclaimer: This post is based on information that is freely available in {the popular#the} press and medical journals concerned with swine flu. Nothing herein is intended to be or should be construed to be medical advice. For medical advice you should consult your own doctor.
