Swine Flu Virus Information, The Simple Precautions That Should Be Taken And What Treatments Are Available
Today we are ever more at at more risk from various strains of the influenza virus than we have for a long time. First we had alarms about bird flu, and recently swine flu has become a major health problem. Swine flu is of more problem than bird flu was. It was a worry that bird flu could change into a strain that could infect humans, apart from a few cases, this has not materialized so far.
Swine flu is of more concern, swine flu is able to spread between people making it a very serious threat. What is swine flu. Swine flu, or to be more correct influenza A (H1N1), is an illness that infects pigs, swine flu is caused by a flu virus. Swine flu outbreaks in pigs is common but is rarely fatal. Swine flu does not usually infect humans, but it can occur occasionally when humans have been close contact with infected pigs.
Swine flu is a new type of virus and therefore is very dangerous. No one has had contact with this particular strain before, and therefore no one has developed any immunity to this particular strain. It is our built in immunity that stops infections from becoming life threatening, with no built in immunity we are at the mercy of the virus. Everyone is vulnerable, this includes healthy adults and teenagers as well as young children and the elderly.
Swine flu could easily result in a pandemic flu situation. Pandemic flu occurs when a flu virus develops that is different from previous influenza types that very few, if any, people have any immunity to. This allows the influenza virus to spread rapidly in the population.
Pandemic flu is different from seasonal flu as follows. Seasonal flu occurs yearly, usually in the winter months. About between 10 and 15 percent of the population are effected and most will recover with no treatment in 1 to 2 weeks.
Pandemic flu affects many more people, it can be up to half of the population, pandemic flu is far more serious, people of all ages can be affected.
Swine flu symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of ordinary flu. Symptoms include a sudden onset of fever, a cough or a shortness of breath. Symptoms that may also present themselves may include headache, sore throats, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, a runny nose, loss of appetite and tiredness.
So what precautions should you take. Anyone displaying cold or flu symptoms should take a few simple precautions. The flu virus spreads between humans from the tiny droplets from the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes. This is how a virus like swine flu are spread through the population. Covering your nose or mouth with your hands when you cough or sneeze is not enough. The virus simply sit on your hands, then everything you touch afterwards becomes contaminated with the virus. Anyone touching the same surface as you will pick up the virus and become infected. Always use a handkerchief or disposable tissue. A tissue is far better, this should be disposed of safely as soon as possible, try to always use a new tissue if you cough or sneeze again.
A vaccination for swine flu is not available. The vaccination for ordinary flu is ineffective in the fight against swine flu. When a vaccination is discovered, it will take many months to manufacture, and by that time the virus might have mutated again making a new vaccination ineffective.
The only effective precaution against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu is not guaranteed to prevent flu, but after someone has been exposed to someone else who has the flu virus, it may help to stop the flu virus making you ill. If Tamiflu is administered in the first 48 hours of getting the flu virus, Tamiflu will help to stop the flu virus spreading through the body, thereby alleviating the signs and symptoms and the risk associated with the flu virus. Governments are stocking Tamiflu, but these supplies will be used to treat key workers and individuals before the population at large.
can buy Tamiflu online, so if the situation arises you are able to give as much protection as possible to yourself and loved ones. It can’t be emphasized enough, Tamiflu does need to be administered as early as is possible to be effective, any delays in treating the virus will diminish how effective Tamiflu is.
Remember, swine flu is a worldwide danger. Should a pandemic outbreak become global it is possible that the supplies of Tamiflu could become diminished and may possibly not be high enough to meet a huge global demand. Until a vaccine is discovered and manufactured in the amounts needed, Tamiflu is the only really effective treatment for swine flu, it is therefore be prudent to buy Tamiflu in advance if you feel you could be at risk.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information freely available in {the popular#the} media and medical articles related to swine flu. Nothing in this article is meant to be or should be taken to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice you should consult with your doctor.
