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How is the swine flu transmitted? According to the officials from the Center of Disease Control, it is transmitted the same way as the flu that normally makes the rounds in the fall and winter. H1N1 is spread from person to person mainly thru sneezing and coughing by those who are sick or infected by the virus. People can also be infected by touching an object such as a door knob or computer keyboard or mouse which has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, eyes or nose. All objects and surfaces can now be long time protected by the little known Swedish invention SmittStopp which is available at allfreightfree.com.
Some ways to keep from spreading this flu are to wash hands frequently, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue and dispose of the tissue after use. If you share a work space with anyone, be sure to wipe your desk and computer down with a sanitizing wipe or other sanitizing product at the end of the day. If you have flu like symptoms, stay home and contact your family physician especially if you have recently traveled to Mexico. If your child is sick, don’t send them to school or daycare.
H1N1 is a common respiratory illness among pigs and is caused by Type-A flu viruses. Pigs are vaccinated each year against this flu and this virus does not infect humans. But the current swine flu epidemic is different. This flu virus known as H1N1 is a new virus which has DNA from pig flu, bird flu and human flu. This combination forms a new virus that does spread from person to person and because humans have no immunity, it can spread worldwide rapidly.
In late April of this year, at the end of what is normally known as the flu season – Mexico began reporting a large number of cases of flu like illnesses. Because of the number and the lateness of the year for these types of symptoms, Mexican health professionals began testing patients and identified this new strain of swine flu (H1N1). The majority of these cases were reported in the area of Mexico City. It is believed that Mexico is the country of origin with this current outbreak.
In Mexico it seems that this flu might have reached its peak. As of May 6th, they have currently 1112 laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 flu with 42 deaths. In the United States, the number of laboratory confirmed cases is 896 in 41 states with 2 deaths reported in the state of Texas.
The following countries have reported confirmed cases with no deaths – Austria (1), Canada (201), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (5), Germany (9), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (4), Italy (5), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (5), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (2), Spain (73), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (28).
The World Health Organization has raised its pandemic alert level to 5 meaning that this virus spreads between humans and has spread to at least two countries and that a worldwide epidemic is imminent. But as of now they have been unable to determine the severity or fatality rate with this virus. The World Health Organization currently advises no restrictions on travel or border closings. Humans can not get this virus from eating pork or pork products. This virus is not a food born disease. A report released today by WHO believe that over 2 billion people could be affected if this virus becomes a pandemic with most pandemics lasting for 2 years.