What is Swine Flu?

by Amy Judd | April 24, 2009 at 08:48 am

4215 views | 68 Recommendations | 21 comments

Swine flu, a virus that carries genes from North American swine, bird and human flu strains, also known as A (H1N1), and rarely infects humans, is actually thought to be responsible for dozens of deaths in Mexio and the infection of hundreds of others in both Mexio and in the Southwestern United States. In Mexico, they are calling it a viral outbreak.

Mexico city closes its public spaces

Mexico city has closed all of their public places, such as schools, libraries, state-owned theatres and museums to try and contain the outbreak.

There are no plans to close the border between the U.S. and Mexico at this time.

Since mid-March, the World Health Organization has stated that about 60 people have died in Mexico from this virus, and a vaccination campaign is being launched.

The strain that was found in Mexico and the strain in the U.S are now discovered to be the same.

An outbreak in Mexicali

There has been a reported outbreak in Mexicali of four people infected with swine flu.

At least 4 people have been infected with swine flu in Mexicali, Mexico, reports say.

Mexicali is the capital of the state of Baja California, along the US-Mexico border.

An outbreak in San Luis Potosi

24 recorded cases so far.

The World Health Organization says it has recorded at least 24 cases of swine flu in San Luis Potosi with 3 fatalities so far

They are not able to contain it in Mexico

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says it is likely too late to contain the swine flu outbreak in the U.S.

The cases in the United States

Seven cases have been documented so far. Five of the people are from Imperial and San Diego Counties, and two are from San Antonio - they range in age from 9 to 54.

“We don’t yet know the extent of the problem,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, the director of respiratory diseases for the agency, “but we don’t think this is a time for major concern.”

None of the people in the U.S. had any contact with pigs, although some had contact with each other, which means the virus is being transmitted from person to person. They were infected from late March to mid-April. Only one has been hospitalized. It is not known how they contracted the virus, but all have since recovered in the U.S.

Experts are expecting to find more cases once they determine who the infected people had contact with.

The cases in Mexico

In Mexico, health authorities noticed a swell in influenze activity at the end of March, and around 60 people died because of their symptons. There could be over 800 infected cases however.

Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said the virus "mutated from pigs and then at some point was transmitted to humans".

This kind of virus has not been seen in people or pigs before, although there have been some combinations of the three in the past, just not this exact combination.

How can it be treated?

It appears to be resistant to the drugs amantadine and rimantadine, but not to Tamiflu or Relenza, but the H1N1 virus is resistant to Tamiflu so doctors are concerned that the swine flu could become resistant to that as well.

There have only been a dozen other reported cases since 2005, but they were in people who all had contact with pigs. Pigs are very susceptible to both avian and human viruses and scientists keep a close eye on them for this reason. The way that genetic reassortment can happen in pigs could mean a new pandemic flu if it is not monitored closely.

What are the symptons?
They are like regular flu symptons, including fever, cough and sore throat, but those can be accompanied by vomiting and diarrhea.

How can you treat it?
The best way to treat it, if you think you may have it, is to go to your doctor, get them to run some tests and take an antibiotic that will help clear it up. It's also a good idea to rest, especially if you are more prone to chest infections. Wash your hands frequently and cover your nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing.

Is there a case in Canada?

There have been no reported cases in Canada so far, however health authorities are saying that if you have been to Mexico recently, then it's a good idea to get yourself checked out, just in case.

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Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 11:08 on April 24th, 2009

In a press conference from the CDC 3pm Eastern time, 7 strains found in Mexcio match the strains in the US. There is no detail yet of how these are linked. One of the cases apparently has travelled to Mexcio, as he/she lived in San Diego. They are still doing case studies.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 09:12 on April 24th, 2009

Thank you for this post amy. I think returning travellers from Mexico are now being screened on arrival The lessons from the SARS outbreak have been learned welll. Better safe than sorry.

Amy Judd

at 11:39 on April 24th, 2009

I am linking all these stories together for complete coverage.

US 'very concerned' swine flu could trigger global pandemic

WHO reports 800 flu like cases in Mexico

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 11:39 on April 24th, 2009

Yes and they.re also monitoring arrivals into Canada. A spokesman from WHO in Switzerland just stated that this is a new strain that they know little about. They.re trying to stay on top of the situation. They are trying to understand if this virus has the potential to become a pandemic. The virus can spread from person to person. They are extremely concerned and want to get a handle on it in order to understand how it affects the rest of the world. They stated that both Mexcio and the US are well equipped to handle an outbreak like this.

Amy Judd

at 10:17 on April 25th, 2009

See your doctor and get checked out as soon as possible; there are vaccines available.

Karl Gotthardt - albertacowpoke

at 11:26 on April 24th, 2009

Yes I'm sure there is more to follow. As far as I know none of it has been discovered in Canada yet.

rizo (not verified)

at 01:07 on April 25th, 2009

Ialreday have my ticket for the 29 this wednesday should I go to mexico now or is better to cancelled?

Barbara McPherson

at 05:54 on April 25th, 2009

This could be 1918 all over again. That was a swine flu too, I believe.

5W (not verified)

at 07:35 on April 25th, 2009

What should you do about possible reporting if you think you may have swine flu? Anything?

Amy Judd

at 08:07 on April 25th, 2009

Health authorities are saying that if you do travel there, just be really careful, take lots of precautions when you are there and make sure you have health coverage.

Fred Miller

at 09:23 on April 25th, 2009

1976: mass US vaccinations held in school auditoriums.

antarctica246

at 16:28 on April 25th, 2009

It would seem that that the boarders into Mexico should most certainly be sealed off till all of the testing and research is complete.

vter (not verified)

at 14:58 on April 26th, 2009

I arrived home from Cancun last night at 11:30 pm. NO SCREENING was done at the airport.

Moriah (not verified)

at 00:52 on April 27th, 2009

60/800 (Figuratively) dead, that's a .075 death rate. That means that if you were to catch H1N1, you would have less than a 7% chance of dying from it. This is based on figures mind you, I won't tell you it's an entirely correct statement. To add to that, however, it's a given that not all areas of Mexico are well renowned for their cleanliness and medical surplus, nor are all areas of the US.

What I'm getting at here, is that if you were to catch the virus, chances are the healthcare you would recieve would raise your chances of survival that much more! Of the twenty cases reported in the US, one has died, the others have completely recovered without medical intervention.

H1N1 is resitant to Zanamivir and Oseltamivir to boot, so you're not defenseless should you need emergency help.

Moriah (not verified)

at 00:56 on April 27th, 2009

Sorry I'm tired, I need to correct some of my mistakes in that last post...

"less than a 7%" I meant less than an 8% chance.

"resitant to Zanamivir and Oseltamivir" Not resistant to, but susceptible to...

I realise it doesn't exactly flow, but you get my point...

Moriah (not verified)

at 00:56 on April 27th, 2009

Sorry I'm tired, I need to correct some of my mistakes in that last post...

"less than a 7%" I meant less than an 8% chance.

"resitant to Zanamivir and Oseltamivir" Not resistant to, but susceptible to...

I realise it doesn't exactly flow, but you get my point...

Roberto Alvarez-Galloso

at 04:31 on April 27th, 2009

http://english.cri.cn/6966/2009/04/27/1821s479049.htm

According to CRI English, Portugal has issued a Swine Flu Advisory

josiemitchell

at 10:38 on April 27th, 2009

I'm currently in the city of Puebla just south of Distrito Federal, or Mexico City, and my university is closed along with every other school, public and private, in Mexico until the 6th of May.

The border between the U.S. and Mexico is also now closed.

Still a friend of mine was in México City all weekend and she tells me it was easy enough to get to the center of town. There was a good amount of people around too. I've been reading to that lots of people, in true Mexican fashion, are using the time off to party.