The World Health Organization has developed a decalogue of swine flu, which has already taken the lives of at least 81 people in Mexico and has infected more than a thousand in the country and the U.S.
What is the swine flu?
It is a highly contagious respiratory disease that affects pigs, caused by a virus of the swine flu. Its high morbidity and mortality is very low, only between 1% and 4%. A virus that spreads from pigs to inhalation of mist from an infected animal through direct and indirect contact.
The disease is almost always caused by viruses of the H1N1 subtype, but are not limited to those affecting animals, eg H1N2, H3N1, H3N2. Pigs can also get infected with avian influenza viruses and the common human flu in the same way as with the swine influenza virus.
It is believed that the H3N2 virus of swine flu were infected by humans to pigs. Sometimes the animals themselves may be infected with a virus, allowing the virus to mix and give rise to mutations. In the same way, these viruses can spread between different animal species, such as from pigs to humans.
How does it affect human health?
How are viruses that can infect humans, occasionally epidemiological outbreaks are detected. Usually, clinical symptoms are similar to those of the common human flu, which affects the winter, although it has detected a wide spectrum of clinical symptoms, ranging from an infection with minimal symptoms to severe pneumonia that can cause death.
These similarities between the symptoms of swine flu and the common flu, fever, cough, headache, makes the majority of cases detected is within the monitoring system of the common flu, so many times do not know the real extent of the epidemic.
Where cases have been reported?
Which has spread from the International Health Regulations of the World Health Organization, apart from recent cases of Mexico, USA, France, New Zealand and Israel have been reported cases in Spain, where the flu is a disease notifiable.
How is the infection?
Humans are infected with swine flu through contact with infected pigs, although infection among humans has occurred in some cases, although very limited to very close contacts and groups of people.
Is it safe to eat pork and its derivatives?
Yes, because the swine flu can not be transmitted through pork after it is cooked. The virus dies after withstand temperatures around 70 degrees, so it is very important to cook the pork well.
What countries have experienced outbreaks of swine flu in pigs?
The swine flu in pigs is not a notifiable disease because the virus disappears after cooking the meat, but its impact is well known. The disease is endemic in the United States, and frequent epidemics have been detected in North America and South Europe (In the United Kingdom, Sweden and Italy), Africa (Kenya) and elsewhere in Asia such as China and Japan.
Is there a risk of it becoming a pandemic?
It is likely that most people, especially those who have no contact with pigs, is not immune to swine influenza viruses, which could prevent infection. If a swine flu virus mutates and gets passed from human to human, it is easy to produce a pandemic.
The impact of a pandemic caused by a virus of this type is difficult to predict, since it influences the virulence of the virus, the immunity of the population, they can offer cross-protection antibodies of the common flu, and so on.
The swine influenza virus, as has happened in this latest outbreak, can lead to a hybrid virus when mixed with a virus, for example, human influenza, thereby facilitating their spread to cause a pandemic.
Are human vaccine to prevent swine flu?
No, because the swine flu viruses change very quickly and the vaccine provides immunity only if it matches the circulating virus. Furthermore, the common flu vaccine, which is produced according to WHO recommendations, is not effective against the virus of swine influenza.
In fact, at this time, the authorities are not aware that they can immunize the population of Mexico and the U.S. with this vaccine to combat swine flu, although they are investigating in the laboratory and slow its rapid spread.
Are there medicines that can fight against swine flu?
Antiviral drugs for influenza are common in some countries prevent and treat the disease effectively. Are of two types: The adamantine and rimantadine on the one hand, and the neuraminidase inhibitors of viruses such as oseltamivir and zanamivir.
However, most previous cases of swine influenza have recovered from the disease without medical care or taking medication.
Some influenza viruses develop resistance to antivirals, the prophylaxis and treatment are limited. The virus samples of human cases responded well to oseltamivir and zanamivir, but were resistant to the adamantine and rimantadine.
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