An Introduction to Swine Flu & How to Prevent Catching It
Its not only been around the news, its around the globe. Swine flu is a disease of the pulmonary system that has resulted in the mutation of the virus known to cause influenza in pigs. It is a known Type A influenza virus similar to the virus that causes the regular flu in humans. The swine flu virus has mutated, as most flu viruses do, and is able to affect humans now.
There different viruses that cause the avian flu, swine flu, and human flu. However, the sporadic human infections of swine flu has been reported to happen worldwide, with a few deaths already recorded. The first infection of swine flu were thought to have happened to people working closely with pigs.
Swine flu symptoms include the similar symptoms of the regular flu that infect human beings which include: fever, lethargy, anorexia nervosa and coughing. Other patients who have had swine flu describe having a runny nose, sore throat, vomiting and even diarrhoea.
Pigs are raised and slaughtered for their meat called pork. When news started spreading about swine flu, there were concerns whether it is possible that swine flu is contracted by eating pork from a sick pig. These concerns are largely unfounded – as long as it is cooked properly, it is perfectly safe to eat pork.
Swine flu is spread, first from pigs to humans. Humans who had direct exposure to pigs with swine flu have caught the disease. Pigs can also be infected by humans carrying the virus, making the containment of the disease very difficult. First patients of swine flu were suspected to be people working in pig pens and pig sties, or people visiting livestock exhibits and trade fairs. From the pig-to-human infection, the human-to-human infection is the next mode of infection the virus can take.
Transmission can also occur indirectly by touching an object or a surface laced with the flu virus as the virus can survive outside a host for a considerable amount of time. Just like the regular human flu virus, it can be spread by coughing or sneezing or kissing. By coughing or sneezing, the virus can be rendered airborne and infect the air of an enclosed space. After the virus is transmitted to a human, that human can carry and spread the virus for the next four to five days.
The symptoms of swine flu and human flu are very much alike. When faced with symptoms of flu, only a lab test by getting a respiratory sample, a sputum exam, will determine which virus strain is causing the disease.
