Influenza Ready!

Swine Flu Precautions, Symptoms And History

The swine flu, also known as H1N1, has been causing a major uproar lately. Local schools and college campuses to businesses and homes have been feeling its impact since spring. What precautions can we take to limit the impact in our lives?

From ancient history to recent history the flu virus has been around and a deadly adversary. The influenza epidemic of 1918 and 1919 in which 1/3 of the world population was infected and 50,000,000 people died was nickname “Spanish flu” because Spain, a neutral country in World War I, had no special censorship for news against the disease and its consequences. Therefore, the most reliable news regarding the disease came from Spain, giving the false impression that Spain was the most—if not the only—affected zone or that it originated from there. This strain has been the basis for almost all cases of influenzaA worldwide since and is related to the strain of H1N1 that we are fighting today.

The flu was not eradicated; it found hosts in pigs where it was able to mutate. Pigs are susceptible to flu from humans and birds. Some genes from humans, pigs and birds mutated together to form a quadruple reassortant virus which includes 2 pig genes, one from the bird and one from us which became the H1N1 virus. The swine flu itself is caused by the type A flu virus and affects the pigs’ respiratory system, but while many get sick few actually die. The first case of our recent “outbreak” was in March 2009, a five year old boy from La Gloria, Mexico who eventually recovered.

From August 30 to October 10, 2009, the CDC broke down the numbers of the 4,958 people hospitalized to those that died by age group.

Age Group Hospitalized Deaths
0-4 19% 3%
5-18 26% 14%
19-24 9% 7%
25-49 24% 32%
50-64 15% 32%
65+ 7% 12%

Those with greater risks are those with underlying problems are the most risk of severe reactions.

The greatest risk group includes people with conditions such as:
Asthma
Diabetes
Suppressed immune systems
Heart disease
Kidney disease
Neuro-cognitive and neuro-muscular disorders
Pregnancy

So, what does H1N1 look like and who does it affect? Symptoms include; fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Others can have symptoms including vomiting, diarrhea and respiratory problems without fever.

What are the emergency warning signs? You need to keep a close eye on children because this can turn serious extremely fast, within a day or two instead of a few days like with adults. Look for fast breathing or trouble breathing, bluish skin color, not drinking enough fluids, not waking up or not interacting, being irritable or not wanting to be held, flu symptoms improve then we turn with a fever and worse cough and fever with rash. In adults you want to look for difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion and severe or persistent vomiting.

The good news is most people recover without any need for medical assistance. There are precautions that you can take to avoid getting sick or if you do get sick to shorten the length and severity and to keep others from getting ill as well.

If you are not sick:
1. Make sure you’re getting good nutrition, you want your immune system as strong as it can be.
2. Wash you hands often the soap and water for at least 30 seconds if no soap or water is available use an alcohol based hands sanitizer
3. Avoid touching non porous surfaces that you hands come in contact with, for example: ATM machines, banisters, door handles etc.
4. Avoid contact with sick people
5. Get plenty of rest
6. Drink plenty of fluids
7. Disinfected common areas with an effective germicide
8. Decide on immunization
9. Avoid touching your eyes nose and mouth

If you get sick:
1. STAY HOME!
2. Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough
3. Throw out your tissues, don’t leave them lying around
4. Wash you hands often with soap and water for at least 30 seconds, if no soap or water is available use an alcohol based hand sanitizer
5. Seek medical treatment if you are sick and not getting better for more than four days
6. Seek medical treatment if an emergency situation comes about

If you do get sick and aren’t getting better there are anti-viral medications doctors will prescribe.