What is swine flu or flu?
The swine flu swine influenza is an infectious disease caused by a virus RNA orthomyxoviridae family called Swine Influenza Virus, or SIV by its acronym in English (Swine Influenza Virus), which normally infects pigs causing similar symptoms to influenza in humans.
Typically, these viruses do not infect humans, except in very few cases and generally are people who work with pigs. It is considered an occupational disease.
Currently, an outbreak of swine flu in humans in Mexico, official figures at the time of writing this talk of 103 suspected deaths from this cause (22 of which are confirmed).
Cases were also detected in the southern United States, Canada, Colombia, Brazil, England, France, Spain, Israel and New Zealand.
Argentina, Peru and Colombia were reported in epidemiological alert to the disease and the World Health Organization (WHO) is considering raising the alert level of the current global grade 3 to 4 (max 6). Some are beginning to speak of a true pandemic .
The virus responsible for these cases is a variant of A/H1N1 never before seen in humans or pigs.
Hybrid viruses were detected, which had chunks of genetic material belonging to the human influenza virus, avian flu and swine flu.
This made them conspiranoics always talk about viruses developed by man (always Americans) as a biological attack launched to Mexico or some suggest that it would be an assault with intent to kill Barack Obama . Recall that Obama visited Mexico last week and met an archaeologist who died two days with symptoms consistent with those of avian flu.
WHO spokesman spoke on the topic by saying that WHO has "no evidence" that could be a bioterrorist attack against Barack Obama but "we are studying."
Of course there is another explanation for this strange virus:
Because pigs can be infected by human influenza virus, avian influenza and the pigs themselves, it is not uncommon to find some with the three viral types. This leads to there being the possibility of recombination, ie, emergence of virus with genetic material from three viral types, a sort of Frankenstein with parts of each.
Similar to what happens to the human influenza virus, the swine flu virus at the time of replication, mistakes in the copy of which leads to RNA that is continually changing. This makes the body to mount an adequate immune response and so far no effective vaccines are known.
What are the symptoms of swine flu?
In humans, causes symptoms similar to those of flu:
- fever
- cough
- nasal congestion
- muscle dolere
to which they can add:
- stiffness
- vomiting
- loss of consciousness
- and can lead to death
Tips for prevention of swine fever in humans:
Unlike what happens with dengue , here the vector is a mosquito, but is the same man that is contagious. It is proven that the human transmission of the virus occurs through the same pathways as the common cold, ie drops Flügge talking, coughing and sneezing and through the saliva.
If you want to see what are the droplets Flugge, I recommend seeing this video:
Because of this, we recommend extreme hygiene precautions:
- Avoid greet with a kiss or shaking hands
- Avoid crowded places (metro, auditoriums, schools, churches, etc.).
- Using masks or masks
- Wash hands often with soap or bleach (sodium hypochlorite or alcohol).
- In offices, call centers and Internet cafes are recommended to clean keyboards and mice with alcohol to disinfect.
- Stay away from people with respiratory infection.
- Do not share food, cups or cutlery.
- Ventilate and allow entry of sunlight into the house, offices and all enclosed places.
Preventing the spread of swine flu among people:
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue or tissue when coughing or sneezing.
- Throw the tissue away.
- Avoid using handkerchiefs.
- Wash hands with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. The alcohol-based disinfectants are effective.
- Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. These are portals of entry of the virus.
- If sick, stay home and avoid school or work to prevent the disease from spreading.
IMPORTANT: The swine flu virus is NOT transmitted by consuming infected pork probably because the virus can not withstand high temperatures such as those used for cooking food.
Treatment of swine influenza:
If you have flu symptoms or elevated temperature, go to the hospital ASAP.
The CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir as shown to be effective against the virus. Not recommend the use of amantadine or rimantadine because resistance to them by the virus.