Swine Flu (H1N1) Prevention, Symptoms, and Treatment

Swine influenza (swine flu) H1N1 is a respiratory disease that is normally spreads pig to pig. Swine flu often causes high illness rates and low death rates in pigs. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) the classical swine virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated in pigs in 1930.

Normally swine viruses don't have much impact on humans, spreading mainly from pig to pig instead. The current strain, however, seems to be different.

Swine influenza is always changing and mutating. Pigs are vulnerable to Avian or bird flu and Human flu, therefore they often catch one or both, and the virus undergoes mutations through gene swapping leading to different strains. According to the World Health Organization this appears to be a mutation of Avian (Bird) Flu, Human Flu and Swine Flu strains

Allegro Medical is a supplier of a wide variety of Medical Supplies, including the supplies you need to minimize the chances of contracting the swine flu in the first place. These not only work for the swine flu but the seasonal flu as well or any other influenza type illness

According to Dr. Mehmet Oz appearing on ABC news, it feels like having the flu. According to a number of sources the following have been reported with this flu.

Cough
Congestion
Nasal Congestion
Body aches
Joint Pains
Fevers
Sore throat
Headaches
Fatigue
Decreased energy

In some cases vomitting has also been reported as well as diarrhea.

According to the CDC if you experience any of the following you should seek emergency medical attention:

In children emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
Fever with a rash

In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:

Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting

In fact you could suffer these symptoms and it may be a regular human flu as opposed to swine flu. Only specific testing will prove whether the illeness is swine flu related or not.

Even though there's been a lot of talk about the deaths that are ocurring due to this illness, 149 to date, the probability of death is very low. Normally a healthy person with a good immune system will come through it with no long term effects.

As with most flues, the elderly and children are some of the ones most at risk, and perhaps some extra precautions should be taken to protect them.

Nobody enjoys going to get a flu shot, but we do expect that if we want one, getting in line for it should simply be a matter of showing up for the event. But what if that was not the case? What if you discovered that you were actually turned away from an inoculation center because you did not fit a predefined "profile" for who is eligible to receive a shot?

Ironically, in a year in which a pandemic strain is circling the globe, this is a very real possibility. Right now we know for certain that swine flu vaccines will be in short supply until sometime in 2010. That means not everyone can be vaccinated against the new pandemic virus.

In fact, vaccine manufacturers let it be known in mid August that instead of the initial 120 million doses of swine flu vaccine that they had projected would be made available for distribution to the U.S. population, only 45 million doses are likely to materialize.

Not only is this not great news, we still have no idea yet whether the new vaccine will even offer significant protection - the 2008 seasonal flu vaccine protected only 44 percent of those who received the shot. So the availability and efficacy of swine flu vaccine is still very much up in the air.

Right now this is not a huge concern, because the virus has not claimed a large number of lives. In fact, it has so far caused no more misery than the seasonal flu, which claims up to a half million lives across the globe every year. But that could change quickly, and if the new swine flu strain suddenly proves to be significantly more lethal than it has been, people will want to be vaccinated, and finding themselves denied the shot could be very worrisome.

So who *will* be allowed to get the shot when it first becomes available? First responders to emergencies need to remain healthy, as do doctors and other health workers who will take care of the sick. Members of the military are also likely to go into the line, as are children, who have shown a higher tendency to fall sick, pregnant women, and anyone with cardiac problems, high blood pressure, or other underlying health problems than can cause a lowered immune response.

If you are otherwise healthy, and you are an adult, then you will likely have to go to the back of the line and wait until early 2010 before you can be vaccinated. Given that the U.S. will get its hands on an estimated 45 million doses of the new vaccine by late October, and depending on whether one or two shots are required to invoke an antibody response to the new swine flu, about one seventh (more likely), to one third of the population of the United States could be vaccinated during the first round.

But if you are NOT one of the lucky first to be vaccinated, and the virus does turn significantly worse, all is not lost. There are still antiviral drugs that can be administered to break an infection that has got started in your body. To learn more about your options I recommend that you check out Survive Pandemic Flu, which was written in response to the emergence of the new pandemic. It goes into great detail about pandemic influenza, and what you can do to protect both yourself and your family from the threat.

You can find out more about the book and the vaccine situation at Survive Pandemic Flu

The normal procedures for eliminating the spread of the flu apply here.

1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough and immideately dispose of the tissue afterward.



2. Avoid touching eyes, nose, or mouth to help eliminate the spread of the virus.

3. Wash hands often with soap and warm water. You can also use alcohol based hand cleaners including the wipes. It is a good idea to keep the alcohol based wipes with you.


4. Stay out of crowded areas including airplanes when possible.

5. If you must be in an enclosed, or crowded space, or an airplane use filter masks to protect yourself.

6. Don't greet people with kisses or handshakes

7. Don't share food, glasses, or cutlery.

8. Avoid contact if at all possible with those who are sick. If it is not avoidable, wash hands regularly, use a mask if needed.

Microsoft has licensed a Swine Flu Assessment from Emory University to help people determine if there is a possibility they have the swine flu and guide them about what to do next.

In addition, they can print out the assessment so that it provides the Doctor with the information in an organized form to save time if a visit to a physician is necessary.

According to the site, you can agree to allow them to use your information for educational and research persons or you can opt out and it will delete your information from the system. You have to make a decision about whether you trust the site owners with your health information.

You can check it out here:

Do I Have the Swine Flu?

What happens if prevention fails? This flu is a lot like other flu viruses. If you have a healthy immune system, you will probably weather it with no long term adverse effects. Most people who contract it don't require medical attention.

If caught early, there are a couple of prescription medications that can reduce the intensity and duration of the flu. The brand names of the drugs are Tamiflu and Relenza.

Tamiflu and Relenza respectively. Tamiflu comes in a capsule. Relenza is an inhaler. They functiion by preventing the spreading of the virus in the body by interrupting the virus' ability to reproduce itself.

Both of these drugs are only useful if they are started within two days of the onslaught of symptoms. This information can be found on their respective websites. (links above in this article). It is also a good idea to check the websites for side effects of these drugs.

Tamiflu and Relenza are available only through prescription.

As with any flu, keep hydrated, eat healthy, and get plenty of rest.

Stay home for work. You will be contagious until at least seven days after the beginning of symptoms or until all symptoms are gone - whichever is longer.

If your child is sick, keep them home from school

Follow the advice given before, if you are around others, cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze.

Avoid physical contact.



.

Waste Disposal

Throw tissue and other disposable items in the trash and immediately wash hand after touching tissues and other waste.

Household Cleaning

Keep surfaces clean, especially bedside tables, bathroom surfaces, kitchen counters and children's toys, by wiping them down with a household disinfectant according to the directions provided on the product label.

Cleaning Linens

Avoid hugging dirty linens while carrying to avoid contamination. Wash linens using household laundry soap and tumbled dry on a hot setting. Immediately after handling dirty laundry, wash hands thoroughly with soap and water or an alcohol based hand rub.

Cleaning Utensils

Wash dishes or utensil in the dishwater or by hand with water and soap.

It would appear that Americans are throwing "swine flu parties" in the hopes of building up resistance to the virus. The intent of these parties is to become infected with what for
many people has been a mild virus in hopes of having natural immunity to a new H1N1 virus that might circulate later and cause more severe cases.

According to the CDC "swine flu parties are not a good way to protect against H1N! in the future.

"While the disease seen in this H1N1 flu outbreak has been mild for many people, it has been severe and even fatal for others. There is no way to predict with certainty what the outcome will be for an individual or, equally important, for others to whom the intentionally infected person may spread the virus," the CDC update said.

While this virus appears mild for many, there have been several deaths as a result. Instead the CDC recommends that anyone with the virus stay away from others to protect them from infection.

The idea comes from the 1918 Spanish flu. A mild spring wave was followed by two deadly waves in early and late winters. According to some reports those who got sick in the first wave were less likely to get sick in the secoond and third waves. But the evidence was based primarily of anecdotal newspaper reports.

Whether something like this would work is up for debate, but there are too many unknowns to make it a "reasonable" risk.

New Report from Trust for America's Health
H1N1 Challenges Ahead

New Report Finds Hospital Beds Could Run Out in 15 States if 35 Percent of Americans Get H1N1

Oct. 1, 2009, Washington, DC) - Trust for America's Health (TFAH) released a new report today that finds 15 states could run out of available hospital beds during the peak of the outbreak, if 35 percent of Americans were to get sick from the H1N1 flu virus. Twelve additional states could reach or exceed 75 percent of their hospital bed capacity, based on estimates from the FluSurge model developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). According to the new report, H1N1 Challenges Ahead, the number of people hospitalized could range from a high of 168,025 in California to a low of 2,485 in Wyoming, and many states may face shortages of beds or may need to reduce the number of non-flu related discretionary hospitalizations due to limited hospital bed availability. The numbers of people who get sick could range from a high of 12.9 million in California to a low of 186,434 in Wyoming, if 35 percent of Americans were to get H1N1.

"Health departments and communities around the country are racing against the clock as the pandemic unfolds," said Jeff Levi, PhD, Executive Director of TFAH.

"The country's much more prepared than we were a few short years ago for a pandemic, but there are some long-term underlying problems which complicate response efforts, like surge capacity and the need to modernize core public health areas like communications and surveillance capabilities." The report examines other H1N1 outbreak concerns the country faces this fall related to vaccines, antiviral medication, health care, and special needs of at-risk communities. Additional key findings from the report include:

Last year, only 36.1 percent of adults were vaccinated against the seasonal flu, with rates ranging from a low of 30.8 percent in California to a high of 49.2 percent in South Dakota. This means that there will need to be a major upsurge in vaccinations in order to vaccinate the entire population for H1N1 compared to what states and communities have managed in the past.

69.5 percent of seniors (over the age of 65) are vaccinated for the flu annually, but only 24.1 percent of younger adults receive vaccinations (ages 18 to 49). Seasonal flu vaccination efforts have concentrated on immunizing seniors, but H1N1 is considered to be more dangerous for young adults and children, which means outreach for vaccinations must be very different.

Budget cuts and layoffs in states and communities are hampering preparedness efforts. Local health departments eliminated 8,000 staff positions in the first half of 2009, which adds to the 7,000 local public health jobs lost in 2008. In addition, federal public health preparedness funding was cut by 25 percent from fiscal year 2005 to 2009.

Nearly half of private sector workers do not have any paid sick leave benefits, which means millions of Americans will face losing their jobs if they are sick or going to work and contaminating others.

While the federal government pays for the purchase and distribution of vaccines, payment for the administration of vaccines will be the responsibility of insurance providers, state and local health officials, or, in some cases, it could be an out-of-pocket cost for individuals.

There are 47 million Americans without health coverage. If 35 percent of the public becomes infected with H1N1, some 15 million uninsured Americans could become sick and either go without care or seek care in already crowded emergency rooms.

African-Americans and Hispanics are more likely to have severe cases of H1N1 because they suffer from more underlying chronic conditions, like asthma and diabetes, at the same time many significant gaps remain in systems for reaching minority communities. For instance, emergency preparedness information is often disseminated on the Internet, which many people do not have access to, and there is limited availability of non-English information.

The report includes short-term recommendations to address some immediate concerns for the upcoming H1N1 season and long-term recommendations for improving the nation's overall capacity for preparing for health emergencies. Some of the short-term recommendations include:

Refine plans for rapid distribution and administration of vaccines for the first mass vaccination effort to be conducted in such a short time in U.S. history;

Risk communications must be a top priority. Special efforts must be made to reach out to young adults, minorities, and other at-risk groups to get vaccinated. This should include communications in many languages;

Vaccination campaigns must continue past the fall to prepare for a potential third wave outbreak;

An emergency health benefit should be established to care for the uninsured and under-insured during the H1N1 outbreak;

An emergency sick leave benefit should be made available to Americans without sick leave benefits;

The emergency supplemental funding for H1N1 preparedness has been very important, but it is one-time funding and is insufficient to fill chronic public health infrastructure gaps, including the need to modernize surveillance systems and upgrade other technologies;

All public and private health insurers should waive co-payment requirements for H1N1 vaccines and out-of-network care for H1N1-related illness and allow providers to bulk bill for the administration of vaccines instead of requiring cumbersome paperwork for every individual;

The U.S. Department of Labor should communicate with the private health benefit plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) to encourage them to waive co-pay requirements for vaccines and out-of-network restrictions and to provide information to state and local health departments to help with their vaccination campaigns in communities; and

Health providers should follow the guidance from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration on the best way to protect health care personnel; and

Health providers and health departments should develop and disseminate strong public messages about ways to practice good hygiene and understand symptoms and remedies.

Hospital Bed Capacity at Five Weeks into a Pandemic
These estimates are for the peak of an outbreak based on CDC's FluSurge model using expert predictions that H1N1 is a relatively mild strain of the flu, similar to the 1968 pandemic flu, and that up to 35 percent of Americans could potentially become sick with H1N1:
%u2022 15 states would be at or exceed hospital bed capacity: Arizona (117%); California (125%); Connecticut (148%); Delaware (203%); Hawaii (143%); Maryland (143%); Massachusetts (110%); Nevada (137%); New Jersey (101%); New York (108%); Oregon (107%); Rhode Island (143%); Vermont (108%); Virginia (100%); and Washington (107%).
%u2022 12 states would be at 75 to 99 percent of their hospital bed capacity: Colorado (88%); Florida (80%); Georgia (78%); Maine (83%); Michigan (79%); New Hampshire (84%); New Mexico (93%); North Carolina (95%); Pennsylvania (77%); South Carolina (93%); Utah (83%); and Wisconsin (75%).
The full report, including a chart with state-by-state information on illnesses, hospitalizations, and flu vaccination rates, is available on TFAH's web site

http://www.healthyamericans.org..

. The report was supported by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

June 11,2009

The World Health Organization just declared the swine flu also known as H1N1 a level 6 pandemic. This essentially means that they are acknowledging that a global outbreak has begun. According to the BBC that means that the swine flu virus is spreading in at least two regions of the world. There are substantial rises in cases in the United States, Chile, the UK, Japan, and Australia.

As of this time there are approximately 28000 cases globally with at least 141 deaths and the number of cases and deaths is rising daily. This is the first time that a pandemic has been declared in forty-one years with the last being in 1968 when the Hong Kong flu killed over a million people.

The declaration does not mean that the swine flu is any deadlier, it is just reached the stage where it is rising in multiple areas of the world. The World Health Organization is trying to make sure there is no panic that would overwhelm health resources in many parts of the world and lead to policies based on fear such as what has happened in Argentina where so many people worried about the flu flooded hospitals this week causing a virtual collapse of the health system. A bus arriving in Argentina from Chile was stoned because people feared someone on the bus had the virus, according the Associated Press.