Swine Flu: The Real Deal

We’ve been hearing a lot about this swine flu, but what exactly is going on?  So far there have been a  total of 64 cases in the US (10 in Cali, 2 in Kansas, 45 in NYC (yikes), 1 in Ohio and 6 in Texas).  It is already at pandemic alert phase 4 – meaning that it now confirmed to be spread by person to person and is able to cause “community-level” outbreaks.

What exactly is swine flu? It’s a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses.  people do not normally get swine flu.

How can you tell if you have swine flu? The symptoms are very similar to a regular flu – fever, cough, sore throat, body aches.  Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting.

What should I do if I get swine flu? If you live in an area with reported cases of swine flu, you should call your doctor to determine if you should come in for testing.  Otherwise, you should stay home and avoid contact with others people as much as possible.

If you display any of the following, go to the hospital right away: difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion or severe or persistent vomiting.

CDC recommends the antiviral drugs oseltamivir or zanamivir.  I’m pretty sure these are prescription drugs.

So how can you avoid catching swine flu? Pretty much the same way you avoid catching any other illness: wash your hands, cover your mouth, avoid other sick people.

Can I get swine flu from eating pork? No.

Be safe,
e.

sources: 1, 2, 3

Tagged as: health, swine flu

About the author

Eva

Eva Haldane, editor of Sassy Women Online and doctoral candidate at Columbia University. You can find her personal blog at evahaldane.com.