Influenza A, H1N1 “Swine Flu” The Facts and How to Protect Yourself

Hi, I'm Swine. Or pig flu. Or H1N1 Flu. I'm an H1N1 Type A Influenza virus. I was first found in humans in Mexico I started in April. I am in almost every country now. I can pass between people. I am in the news all the time now. I'm very famous

What do you need to know about the new H1N1 flu that everyone is concerned about?? Prepared by Azlaila bt zahari

What is ‘the flu’? A sudden onset respiratory illness with fever – Affects nose, throat, air passages, and lung – Yearly epidemics – Occurs worldwide causing significant illness and death every year

Types of flu Type A: moderate to severe illness – All age groups – Humans and other animals Type B: milder epidemics – Humans only – Primarily affects children Type C: rarely reported in humans – No epidemics

How are viruses different from other germs? Typically much smaller than most infectious agents Viruses need to get a life! – Don’t carry out independent metabolism – Don’t divide in order to reproduce – Can only reproduce inside living host cells Viruses turn host cells into virus factories – Create viral parts inside cells – Parts self-assemble into mature virus particles Potential outcomes: cell death, immune response eliminates virus, some viruses (e.g. herpes) persist

What is Influenza A, H1N1 Swine Flu?  Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by a virus. It regularly causes outbreaks of influenza among pigs  Influenza A, H1N1 swine flu is a new strain of the flu that moved from pigs to humans and can be transmitted from human to human.

Influenza A, H1N1 (swine flu)  Swine flu is different from seasonal flu because:  It is a new strain of the virus  Humans do not have an immunity from it  Immunizations received do not offer protection against the H1N1 swine flu

The current WHO phase of pandemic alert is 6

How Does It Spread?  Thought to be spread in the same way that seasonal flu spreads  Mainly from person to person when an infected person coughs or sneezes and spreads tiny particles into the air  Sometimes by touching something with flu viruses on it, and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes

How Long Can an Infected Person Spread it to Others?  People are contagious as long as they have symptoms, and up to 7 days after they become sick  Children, especially infants, may be contagious for longer periods  Viruses can live 2 hours or longer on surfaces like tables, desks, and doorknobs.

What are Signs and Symptoms of the Flu?  Similar to symptoms of regular human flu:  Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue  May include diarrhea and vomiting  May cause more serious symptoms in individuals with chronic medical conditions  Pneumonia, respiratory failure, and deaths have been reported.

Case Definitions for Infection with Swine-origin Influenza A (H1N1) A confirmed case defined as a person with an acute febrile respiratory illness with laboratory confirmed by one or more of the following tests. 1) Real-time RT-PCR 2) Viral culture

Vaccine?? Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is NO VACCINE to protect humans from swine flu, although the CDC is formulating one. The seasonal influenza vaccine may help to provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not against swine H1N1 viruses like the one circulating now.

Past Vaccines proved not safe In 1976 a new strain of swine flu started infecting people and worried U.S. health officials started widespread vaccination. More than 40 million people were vaccinated. But several cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe and sometime fatal condition that can be linked to come vaccines, caused the U.S. government to stop the program. The incident led to widespread distrust of vaccines in general

Drugs are Highly Beneficial If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. Influenza antiviral drugs work best when started soon after illness onset (within two 2 days), But treatment with antiviral drugs should still be considered after 48 hours of symptom onset, particularly for hospitalized patients or people at high risk for influenza-related complications.

CDC Recommends CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.

Oseltamivir Oseltamivir (brand name Tamiflu ®) is approved to both treat and prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people one year of age and older

Zanamivir Zanamivir (brand name Relenza ®) is approved to treat influenza A and B virus infection in people 7 years and older and to prevent influenza A and B virus infection in people 5 years and older.

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself and Others?  Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for seconds  Alcohol-based hand cleaners are OK  Cover your coughs and sneezes by coughing and sneezing into your arm, not your hands. Or, sneeze into a tissue and discard it  Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth  Try to avoid close contact with people who appear sick, and have a fever and cough

What Can You Do to Protect Yourself and Others?  If you are sick, stay home  If your child is ill, keep them home from school or childcare  Practice good health habits: get enough sleep, eat nutritious food, keep physically active  If you smoke, quit.

What To Do if Your Child is Sick If your child has these symptoms, seek immediate medical care:  Fast breathing or trouble breathing  Bluish skin color  Not drinking enough fluids  Not waking up or not interacting  Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held  Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough  Fever with a rash.

Spread the Message of Flu to Everyone