Hi
...
Here
is an informative attachment about swine flu...
please
go through and fwd to your friends to create awareness about this pandemic
Lion
Biswajit Bhattacharyya
DC-Human
Rights
What
is swine flu?
Swine
Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by Type A
influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs.
Swine
flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past,
this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.
Is the current swine flu virus
contagious?
Various
international agencies (US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, World
Health Organization) have determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is
contagious and is spreading from human to human.
WHO
has escalated the world Pandemic Phase from Phase 3 to Phase 4 (in a 6-scale
Phase), indicating that a worldwide pandemic due to swine flu H1N1 is possible.
What are the signs and symptoms of swine
flu in people?
The
symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu
and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
Some
people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the
past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been
reported with swine flu infection in people.
Like
seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical
conditions.
How does swine flu spread?
Spread
of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same
way that seasonal flu spreads.
Flu
viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of
people with influenza.
Sometimes
people may become infected by touching something with live flu viruses on it and
then touching their mouth or nose.
How are human infections with swine
influenza diagnosed?
To
diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally
need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected
person is most likely to be shedding virus).
However,
some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer.
Identification
as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to a hospital
laboratory for testing
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Regards,
Lion Biswajit
Bhattacharyya
O/O MD, TSKZN, Kolkata
+91 33 2288 8615 (D)
+91 33 2288 4364 (Fax)
+91 9831228505 (M)