We are ever more at a greater risk from various strains of the influenza virus than we have previously. We had great concerns about bird flu, and more recently swine flu has become a major problem. Swine flu is of more problem than bird flu ever was. It was feared that bird flu may mutate into a strain that could become infectious in humans, apart from a few cases, this has not materialized so far.
Swine flu is a much greater concern, swine flu is able to pass from person to person which makes it an extremely serious health problem. Swine flu or influenza A (H1N1) is a flu virus that infects pigs. Swine flu outbreaks in pigs does not usually infect humans although it can happen sometimes.
Swine flu is very dangerous as it is a new strain of virus. This means that no one has had contact with this strain previously, and therefore no one has developed any immunity to this virus. It is our inbuilt immunity that stops infections from becoming life threatening, with no inbuilt immunity we are at the mercy of the virus. Absolutely everyone is vulnerable, including healthy adults and teenagers as well as young children and senior citizens.
Swine flu could easily result in a pandemic flu situation. Pandemic flu situation occurs when an influenza virus develops that is dissimilar to previous flu types that few, if any, people have any sort of immunity to. This lets the flu virus to spread widely and rapidly in the population.
Pandemic flu differs from seasonal flu as follows. Ordinary influenza occurs annually, mainly in the winter months. About 10 to 15 percent of people are effected and the vast majority will recover with no treatment in about 1 to 2 weeks.
Pandemic flu affects more people, it can be up to half of the population, it is much more serious, all ages of people will be infected.
Swine flu symptoms are similar to the symptoms of ordinary flu. Symptoms include a sudden onset of a fever, cough or a shortness of breath. Other symptoms that may be present may include headaches, sore throats, aching muscles, chills, sneezing, runny nose, loss of appetite and tiredness.
So what precautions can we take. First, anyone displaying cold or flu symptoms should take some simple precautions. The flu virus spreads between humans by the tiny droplets from the nose and mouth when someone sneezes or coughs. This is the way viruses are spread from person to person. Using your hands to cover your nose or mouth when you cough or sneeze is not effective enough. The germs remain on your hands, and everything you touch afterwards becomes contaminated. Other people will touch these surfaces and pick up the virus. Therefore, always use a handkerchief or disposable tissue. A disposable tissue is much better, this should be disposed as soon as possible, try to always use a fresh tissue if you cough or sneeze again.
A vaccination for swine flu is not yet available. The vaccination for ordinary influenza is not effective against swine flu. When a vaccination is found, it will take many months to manufacture, and by that time the virus might have changed again making the new vaccination ineffective.
The best precaution you can take against swine flu is Tamiflu. Tamiflu is not guaranteed to prevent swine flu, but if you have been in contact with someone else who has the swine flu virus, it may help in stopping the virus making a person sick. If Tamiflu is administered within 48 hours of contracting the flu virus, it will help in stopping the virus from spreading throughout the body, alleviating the symptoms and the risk associated with the virus. Governments worldwide are stockpiling Tamiflu, these supplies will be used in treating key workers before the population at large.
You can buy Tamiflu online, if the situation arises you can protect yourself and your loved ones as much as is possible. It can't be emphasized enough, Tamiflu needs to be administered as early as possible to be effective, any delays in treating the virus will reduce the effectiveness of Tamiflu.
Also, remember that swine flu is a global danger. Should a pandemic outbreak become global it is a possibility that the supplies of Tamiflu could become diminished and may possibly not be high enough to meet a large global demand. Until such time that a vaccine is discovered and manufactured in the quantities required, Tamiflu is the most effective treatment for swine flu, it is therefore be prudent to buy Tamiflu in advance if you feel you could be at risk.
Disclaimer: This article is based on information freely available in {the popular#the} press and medical journals concerned with swine flu. Nothing in this posting is meant to be or should be taken to be any sort of medical advice. For medical advice you are encouraged to consult with your healthcare worker.
