Swine Flu 101: This Little Piggy Went To Mexico

April 27, 2009 by JD
Filed under Health News, News

A little history lesson.

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed between 20 and 40 million people across the globe. Over 28% of all Americans ended up being infected, with 675,000 actually dying from the strain also known as the “Spanish Flu”.

Get your attention?

Let’s move forward to February 5, 1976. At Fort Dix in New Jersey, an army recruit complained of feeling tired and weak. He died the next day. Four other soldiers were later hospitalized with the same symptoms. Two weeks later, health officials announced that swine flu was the cause of death and that this particular flu appeared to be closely related to the strain responsible for the 1918 pandemic.

A botched vaccination program was rushed into place with more people dying from reactions to the vaccine than from the flu strain.

It wasn’t until 30 years later that another significant swine flu outbreak occurred. This was in 2007 in the Philippines and was contained.

Present day.

In March and April of 2009, over 1,000 cases of swine flu have been reported in Mexico with at least 80 deaths resulting from the disease. The new virus — which combines genetic material from pigs, birds and humans in a strain researchers have not seen before — has also sickened at least eight people in Texas and California, though there have been no deaths in the U.S.

“We are very, very concerned,” World Health Organization spokesman Thomas Abraham said. “We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human … It’s all hands on deck at the moment.”

With all the advances in modern medicine, when the head of the WHO expresses concern over an outbreak, I’m pretty sure we need to pay attention.

So, the concern about a major outbreak appears to be legit and the more you know about this particular form of the flu, the better prepared you can be to recognize the symptoms.

What is swine flu?

It’s a flu that typically occurs in pigs. Humans can catch it from having close contact directly with infected pigs, but historically it is rare for that to occur. The 2009 version of the flu, however, is concerning because the strain can pass directly from person to person.

Is the strain being detected in the U.S. cases the same as the one spreading in Mexico?

The virus that is being found in the U.S. cases does appear to be the same strain as the one in Mexico. However, while the disease has caused multiple deaths in Mexico, the reported cases in the U.S. have been far less severe. Most patients have been able to recover from the flu symptoms without requiring hospitalization.

No one knows why there is such as disparity between the occurrences in the two countries, but CDC officials do warn that more severe cases are likely to occur here in the States.

I feel like I have the flu. Could it be the swine strain?

According to health officials in New York City, people with “ordinary” flu symptoms should not rush to seek emergency care. However, some warning signs to watch for are:

Difficulty in breathing
Bluish skin tint on body extremities
Flu symptoms that appear to improve, then return with fever and a severe cough
Pain or pressure in the abdomen
Dizziness or confusion
Persistent vomiting

Is the swine flu treatable with drugs?

There are two drugs that are effective in reducing the severity of the swine flu symptoms: Tamiflu and Relenza. However, for the U.S. cases reported to date, the use of these drugs has not been required. One key thing to remember is that neither drug is a vaccine so their use is limited to treatment rather than prevention. Typically used for the short term treatment of severe symptoms, the drugs are ony available via prescription.

What can people do to reduce the spread of the disease?

The usual. Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough. Wash or sanitize your hands frequently. Avoid touching your moth, nose, or eyes with unwashed hands. Stay away from infected people.

Anyone even experiencing mild symptoms should stay home and avoid human contact until at least 48 hours after the symptoms have subsided.

What’s that old tag line from some series of t.v. commercials? The more you know…