Posted by Jack (From Netscape and the AP)
UPDATE: California is becoming ground zero for the spread of swine flu. 19 cases have now been reported here and 3 cases reported in Sacramento. 50 confirmed cases now in USA. Travel to Mexico should be avoided. The last flu pandemic was in 1968 and claimed the lilves of 34,000 people.
The new flu strain can survive up to 72 hours on dry surfaces. Hand contact is the most common transmission method. Face masks provide weak to moderate protection.
Since there is no vaccine currently available to prevent the new strain of swine flu, doctors insist the most important preventive measure is to wash your hands. Frequently. And thoroughly. If soap and water are not available, use hand gels. Once a person does get sick, the antiflu drugs Tamiflu or Relenza will help, but it’s up to you to do all you can to keep yourself well.
This is a never-before-seen flu strain that is a mix of pig, human and bird viruses, reports The Associated Press. Specifically, it is a new version of the H1N1 strain that caused the 1918 flu pandemic. While patients in Mexico have died from it, the virus appears to be milder in the United States and elsewhere. Authorities insist it is not yet time to panic, but it is time to prepare with commonsense precautions:
–Wash your hands frequently.
–Cough and sneeze into the crook of your elbow and not your hand or use a tissue and then throw it away.
–Stay home if you’re sick. Keep your children home from school if they are sick.
The United States is responding now as if the swine flu will turn into a pandemic.
It’s not yet understood if the virus is transmitted with fairly close or prolonged contact with a sick individual or if it is more easily spread. Most flu viruses are spread through uncovered coughs and sneezes and by touching your mouth or nose with unwashed hands. The virus can live on almost any surface, such as a doorknob, for several hours. It is safe to eat pork, since despite its name, the swine flu is not spread through food.
What are the symptoms? Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people also get diarrhea and vomiting. If you get these symptoms and you live someplace where swine flu cases have been confirmed or you have recently traveled to Mexico, see a doctor. While most states have not reported any cases of the swine flu, emergency workers say it’s only a matter of time. For example, as of Tuesday morning, there are no reported cases of swine flu in Maryland, Virginia or the District of Columbia. “It’s not a matter of if, it’s a matter of when,” David Paulson of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, told The Washington Post. “It’s just too darn infectious, and we have too many people in this area who travel.”
Time Line:
December 2005 to January 2009: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention receives reports of 12 cases of human infection with swine flu. Five of these 12 cases occurred in patients who had direct exposure to pigs and six reported being near pigs. Exposure in one case is unknown.
March 28: Believed to be the date of the earliest onset of the swine flu cases in the U.S., Dr. Nancy Cox of the CDC said in an April 23 press briefing.
April 2: A 4-year-old boy contracted the virus before this date in Veracruz state, Mexican Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova later said citing test results. A community in Veracruz has been protesting pollution from a large pig farm.
April 6: Local health officials declare a health alert due to a respiratory disease outbreak in the Mexican town of La Gloria in Veracruz state. Health officials record 400 cases of people who sought medical treatment in the previous week in the town. About 60 percent of the town of 3,000 are affected.
April 17: CDC determines that two children in adjacent counties in southern California had illnesses caused by infection with swine flu. Both children became sick in late March.
April 22: CDC confirms three additional cases of swine flu in California and two in Texas, near San Antonio.
April 22: The Oaxaca Health Department indicates that 16 employees at the Hospital Civil Aurelio Valdivieso have contracted respiratory disease.
April 24: Mexico’s Minister of Health confirms 20 deaths from swine flu, but 40 other fatalities were being probed and at least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu. Mexico City shuts down schools, museums, libraries, and state-run theaters across the capital.
April 26: The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. climbs to 20 in five states. Mexico reports suspect clinical cases have been reported in 19 of the country’s 32 states. Canada confirms six cases.
April 27: The World Health Organization raises its pandemic alert status to Phase 4, meaning there is sustained human-to-human transmission of the virus causing outbreaks in at least one country.
Cordova said 1,995 people have been hospitalized with serious cases of pneumonia since mid-April and about half of those have been released. The government does not yet know how many were swine flu. The CDC reports the suspected death toll in Mexico has climbed to 149.
The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. climbs to 48 in five states. (see update)
Spain reports its first confirmed swine flu case.