Swine flu is the respiratory illness of pigs caused by infection with swine influenza. It is a virus that can occasionally affect humans.
The 2009 flu pandemic is a global outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus. Subtype HINI, identified in April 2009, is commonly referred to as swine flu. It is a novel strain of influenza - a
re- assortment of four known strains of influenza A virus sub type HINI- one endemic in humans, one endemic in birds and two endemic in swine (pigs).
The outbreak was first detected in Mexico City in March 2009. By mid June seventy six countries had officially reported several thousand cases of swine flu (39,620). The WHO declared the outbreak to be a pandemic on June 11, 2009 due to the global spread of the virus and not its severity. Pandemic alert level was classified as Phase 6, meaning that there are now ongoing community level outbreaks in multiple parts of the world.
Symptoms are similar to those caused by other influenza viruses and it is not possible to distinguish swine flu from regular seasonal influenza on the basis of symptoms alone.
Showing posts with label pandemic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pandemic. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Symptoms and spread of swine flu
Symptoms:
Symptoms range from mild to severe. The usual presentation is a sudden onset of fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion with nasal discharge along with headache, body ache and severe weakness. Patients can also have symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, chills, breathing difficulty and, rarely, conjunctivitis. Severe disease presents with pneumonia and respiratory failure resulting in death.
A chronic medical condition in a person can result in the worsening of his underlying symptoms.
Spread:
Influenza spreads easily as respiratory droplets containing the virus are transmitted when the infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. It can also spread via a contaminated fomite or by touching an infected person without following the necessary precautions. The infected person is potentially contagious for up to 7 days following the onset of illness. Unlike seasonal flu, swine flu has affected mainly children of all ages and healthy young adults.
It spreads due to close contact with any affected person. So the people who have visited the affected countries are screened at airports of countries that are not affected. In spite of this, the swine flu has spread its wings over many countries.
In this era of frequent and easy travel, the spread should have been more rapid and wider than what is actually present now. The reason that the spread has been controlled to a large extent is the immediate action taken by the governments of different countries. Also the improvement in health care has helped by quarantining the affected patients and treating them effectively.
Symptoms range from mild to severe. The usual presentation is a sudden onset of fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion with nasal discharge along with headache, body ache and severe weakness. Patients can also have symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, chills, breathing difficulty and, rarely, conjunctivitis. Severe disease presents with pneumonia and respiratory failure resulting in death.
A chronic medical condition in a person can result in the worsening of his underlying symptoms.
Spread:
Influenza spreads easily as respiratory droplets containing the virus are transmitted when the infected person coughs, sneezes or talks. It can also spread via a contaminated fomite or by touching an infected person without following the necessary precautions. The infected person is potentially contagious for up to 7 days following the onset of illness. Unlike seasonal flu, swine flu has affected mainly children of all ages and healthy young adults.
It spreads due to close contact with any affected person. So the people who have visited the affected countries are screened at airports of countries that are not affected. In spite of this, the swine flu has spread its wings over many countries.
In this era of frequent and easy travel, the spread should have been more rapid and wider than what is actually present now. The reason that the spread has been controlled to a large extent is the immediate action taken by the governments of different countries. Also the improvement in health care has helped by quarantining the affected patients and treating them effectively.
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