Swine Flu Facts You Should Know

With the rapid spread of swine flu and the media attention it has been subjected to

, even a layman would be able to tell something about the pandemic. A lot of it that is fed to us however is not necessarily true. Here are some less known facts about swine flu you should probably know.

The current H1N1 Influenza Virus is of a genetic makeup that includes genes from three different viruses that affect pigs, birds, and humans. It is now known that the predecessor to the current H1N1 pork flu had already been around in pigs for the last 10 years and just recently eveolved to acquire the additional genes that have allowed it to develop in humans

The H1N1 virus is first thought to have jumped from pigs to humans in Mexico, and it has been confirmed that once it moved to Canada, it jumped from humans to pigs.

The H1N1 virus is mostly of swine origin - 6 segments from pig virus, 1 from bird, and the last from human.

Worldwide, just over 0.4% of the laboratory-confirmed cases reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) have died. Not surprisingly, this is a similar death rate to ordinary flu. The true number of swine flu cases is likely to be significantly higher than those reported WHO and therefore the figure of 0.4% is likely to be an overestimate of the death rate. When you think about it, it is quite a relief to know.

The WHO's pandemic alert level has been raised a notch to level 4. Level 5 is considered a pandemic - with "sustained community-level transmission" in at least two countries - and level 6 a full-scale global pandemic affecting more than one region in the world.

Flu bugs can survive for hours on surfaces. A study showed that these viruses can survive for up to 48 hours on hard surfaces that are nonporous, like steel for example. This is the reason one must clean out hard surfaces regularly with disinfectant. The virus survives for only a few minutes on human skin, and for up to 12 hours on soft surfaces like cloth and tissue.

There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: Amantadine, Rimantadine, Oseltamivir and Zanamivir. Most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, and the most recent seven swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to Amantadine and Rimantadine.

To diagnose swine influenza, a respiratory specimen would require to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness.

Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu, yet. The seasonal influenza vaccine can help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

Approximately one human swine influenza virus infection has been seen every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.

by: Wes Hamilton

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