SWINE FLU

crazycool

Recently the swine flu has been becoming one increasingly heated topic worldwide.
So I'd like to talk about it with you. one of the friend came back to China from Australia about 2 weeks ago, and he actually had been segregated for 1 week once he arrived.
I will attatch some materials i've found in the internet and the magzines which i hope are useful for u.

The following is the definition I copied from Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza

Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu and pig flu) is an infection of a host animal by any one of several specific types of swine influenza virus. In 2009 the media labeled as "swine flu" flu caused by 2009's new strain of swine-origin A/H1N1pandemic virus just as it had earlier dubbed as "avian flu" flu caused by the recent Asian-linage HPAI (High Pathogenic Avian Influenza) H5N1 strain that is still endemic in many wild bird species in several countries.
A swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is usually hosted by (is endemic in) pigs.[2] As of 2009, the known SIV strains are the influenza C virus and the subtypes of the influenza A virus known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3. Swine flu is common throughout pig populations worldwide.
Transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always cause human influenza, often only resulting in the production of antibodiesin the blood. The meat of the animal poses no risk of transmitting thevirus when properly cooked. If transmission does cause human influenza,it is called zoonoticswine flu. People who work with pigs, especially people with intenseexposures, are at increased risk of catching swine flu. In the mid-20thcentury, identification of influenza subtypes became possible, whichallows accurate diagnosis of transmission to humans. Since then, fiftyconfirmed transmissions have been recorded. Rarely, these strains ofswine flu can pass from human to human. In humans, the symptoms ofswine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort. Pigs can also become infected with human influenza, and this appears to have happened during the 1918 flu pandemic.[3]
The 2009 swine flu outbreak in humans is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that contains genes closely related to swine influenza.[4] The origin of this new strain is unknown. However, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs.[5] This strain can be transmitted from human to human,[6] and causes the normal symptoms of influenza.[7]



I also find one of the magzine called Reader's Digest Aus.  There are several articles about Swine Flu that I really like to share with u.

IS SWINE FLU A THREAT?
Swine flu is caused by the influenza type A (H1N1) virus that infects pigs. H1N1 is the same strain as seasonal flu.
the virus can be easily transmitted from person to person, through coughing and sneezing, but in its current form it is fairly mild. "For an influenza to cause widespread deaths it needs to be both virulent(or aggressive) and highly infectious," explains Professor Collignon. "Swine flu appears to be no more virulent and causing no greater percentage of deaths than we see from influenza every winter. However, there is always the chance it could mutate or new strains could emerge."
Although it sounds scary, the term pandemic is simply a worldwide epidemic of a disease - meaning it has spread across multiple continents. Pandemics vary in the level of illness and death they cause.
As Reader's Digest went to press, swine flu had yet to be declared at the maximum pandemic alert level six by the World Health Oraganisation (WHO). "A level of six label does not mean panic, it signifies community-level outbreaks in at least two regions of the world," says Collignon.

SIX  STEPS TO A PANDEMIC   The  phrases of pandemic alert devised by the WHO
Interpandemic  period	1	No new virus subtypes detected in humans
	2	Risk of human infection is low Animal flu subtype poses substantial risk to humans
Pandemic  alert period	3	Human infection with a new subtype, but no, or at most, rare huamn-to-human transmission od disease
	4	Limited human-to-huamn transmission but spread id highly licalised
Pandemic  alert period	5	Significant human-to-huamn transmission suggesting virus better adapted to humans, but spread still localised
Pandemic  period	6	Global pandemic: increased and sustained transmission in general population

VIRUSES OR BACTERIA?

Thet are both microscopic and both cause disease, the there's a huge difference between viruses and bacteria, and how we treat them.

• Bacteria are single-cell organisms that live everywhere from ice slope to the deserts. Some are beneficial - they help us digest food, for example -but others, called pathogenic, cause illness. Bacteria are self-sufficient and can replicate themselves from any other living cell through subdivision.
  
• Typically one to 100 times smaller than bacteria, viruses can only reproduce by entering a living cell. Drugs which target viruses are usually very toxic to the host cell, so treatment can be tricky.
  
• Other microscopic invaders that cause disease include fungi - slightly larger than bacteria and responsible for conditions such as candida - and protozoa; tiny single-cell parasites such as Cryptosporidium that can live in your body.
  
• Antibiotics kill bacteria, but not viruses. In fact, if you take antibiotics to try to treat a viral infection this will affect the virus and may cause other unwanted effects.
  

WHEN TO SEEK MEDICAL CARE

The best thing your doctor can prescribe for a viral infections such as colds is chicken soup and bed rest. But do check it out if you think you have an infection or if  you have experienced any of the following

• An animal or human bite
  
• Difficulty breathing
  
• A cough lasting longer than a week
  
• A fever of 38C or more
  
• Periods of rapid heartbeat
  
• A rash, especially if accompanied by fever
  
• Swelling
  
• Persistent vomiting
  
• Unusual or severe headaches
  

The above articles are copied directly from
July 2009, Reader's Digest AUSTRALIA

fr.gments

I honestly think that people are making a big deal out of swine flu than they should. I live in America...where the outbreaks were first discovered. Many schools had closed temporarily during the investigation and infection period. However, as more research were done, the alertness gradually ceased. Statistically speaking, the regular seasonal flu kills more people than swine flu (at least in America). The only reason why the media is spotlighting swine flu is because it's relatively unknown to the public until recently.

crazycool

fr.gments: I honestly think that people are making a big deal out of swine flu than they should. I live in America...where the outbreaks were first discovered. M

you are totally right

The article above mentiones that swine flu is pretty much like a normal  seasonal epidemic

but people are so scared of infectious diseases that they exaggerated the influence of this flu