We are ever more at a greater risk from the various strains of the flu virus than we have been for a long time. First we had alarms over bird flu, but recently swine flu has manifested as a major concern. Swine flu is a greater concern than bird flu. It was a worry that bird flu may change into a strain that might infect humans, thankfully, apart from a few isolated cases, this has not materialized so far.

Swine flu is a much greater concern, swine flu is able to spread from human to human which makes it a very serious threat.  So what is swine flu. Swine flu, or influenza A (H1N1), is a disease that infects pigs, swine flu is caused by a flu virus. Outbreaks of swine flu in pigs is quite common but is rarely fatal. Swine flu doesn’t usually infect people, although it can occasionally happen when people have been in close contact with pigs with swine flu.

Swine flu is a unknown type of virus and is therefore extremely dangerous to people. No one has had contact with this particular type previously, and therefore no one has developed any immunity to this strain. It is our built in immunity that stops diseases from becoming life threatening, without inbuilt immunity we are unable to defend ourselves from the virus. Everyone is susceptible, this includes healthy adults and teenagers as well as young children and the elderly.

Swine flu can easily result in a pandemic influenza situation. A pandemic flu occurs when a flu virus develops that is different from previous flu strains that very few, if any, people have any sort of immunity to. This lets the influenza virus to spread rapidly in the population.

Pandemic flu is different from ordinary flu as explained below.  Ordinary flu occurs yearly, mainly in the winter. Approximately 10 to 15 percent of the population are effected and most will recover without treatment in about 1 to 2 weeks.

A pandemic influenza outbreak affects more people with up to half the population infected. It also affects people of all ages.

Swine flu symptoms are very similar to the symptoms of seasonal influenza. These symptoms include sudden onset of a fever, cough or shortness of breath. Symptoms that may also be present include headaches, sore throat, aching muscles, sneezing, chills, a runny nose, appetite loss and tiredness.

So what precautions should you take. First, anyone showing flu or cold symptoms needs to take some easy, but very important precautions. The flu virus is spread between humans from the tiny droplets from the nose and mouth when someone coughs or sneezes. This is the way a virus 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 virus remain on your hands, then everything you touch becomes contaminated with germs. Other people can touch these surfaces and pick up the virus. Always use a handkerchief or tissue. A disposable tissue is better, the tissue should be disposed safely as soon as possible, and always use a new tissue when you cough or sneeze again.

A vaccination for swine flu is not available. The vaccination for seasonal influenza is ineffective against swine flu. By the time a vaccination is discovered, it can take many months to make, and by that time the virus might have mutated again making the new vaccination possibly ineffective.

The best precaution you can take against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu is not guaranteed to prevent flu, but when someone has been exposed to someone else who has the flu virus, Tamiflu can help to stop the flu virus making you sick. If Tamiflu is taken within 48 hours of getting the flu virus, Tamiflu may help in stopping the flu virus from spreading through the body, thereby reducing the symptoms and the risk associated with the virus. Governments are stockpiling Tamiflu, these supplies will naturally be used to treat key workers before the general population.

You can buy Tamiflu online, so if the situation occurs you are able to protect yourself and family as much as possible. Although it cannot be emphasized enough, Tamiflu does need to be administered as early as is possible for it to be effective, any delays in treatment will diminish the effectiveness of Tamiflu.

Remember that swine flu is a global danger. Should an outbreak become global it is a possibility that the supplies of Tamiflu may be diminished and may not meet a massive worldwide demand.  Until such time that a vaccine is found and manufactured in the amounts needed, Tamiflu is the only really effective treatment for swine flu, it is sensible to buy Tamiflu beforehand if you think you are at risk.

Disclaimer: This article is based on information available in {the popular#the} press and medical articles concerned with 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 your own healthcare worker.

 

 

Popularity: 18% [?]

StumbleUpon It!

Technorati Tags: ,