What is the H1N1 virus?

Answer 1

Symptoms of H1N1/09 (Pandemic swine flu):

Having a single one of these symptoms does not mean you have pandemic swine flu, but, you don't need to have all of these symptoms to suspect infection, either. The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza. Watch for some combination of the following symptoms:

1. Fever of 101°F (41°C) or higher
2. Coughing
3. Headache
4. Sneezing
5. Body Aches
6. Fatigue
7. Dizziness
8. Chest pain
9. Abdominal pain
10. Shortness of breath
11. Malaise
12. Runny Nose
13. Sore throat
14. Vomiting
15. Diarrhea
16. Rigors (chills or shivers)

Caution: If you suspect that you might have a flu infection, consult a physician as soon as possible. Don't wait!

It is important for people who have chronic health conditions, women who are pregnant, and people with other high risk factors to pay special attention to warning signs. Influenza can make the symptoms, of other chronic medical conditions, worse

For Children: who may need urgent medical attention, symptoms include:

• fast breathing or trouble breathing;
• blueish or gray skin color;
• not drinking enough fluids;
• severe, persistent vomiting;
• not waking up or not interacting;
• being so irritable that the child doesn't want to be held;
• flu-like symptoms, after improving, return later with greater intensity.

These are warning signs that physicians think about all the time with respiratory infections and are good things for parents to have in mind at all times but especially with the Novel H1N1 strain.

For Adults: who may need urgent medical attention, symptoms include:

• difficulty breathing or shortness of breath;
• pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen;
• sudden dizziness, confusion;
• persistent or severe vomiting that doesn't go away;
• and flu-like symptoms that improve, but then come back again with a fever or worsening of cough.

Other underlying medical conditions* can create the potential for more severe illness, and it is for that reason that people who have these underlying conditions, or the family members who care for such people, need to remain vigilant about these warning signs emerging. For a list of the those at most risk of the swine flu and of complications due to it, see below.

It's often best to contact a health care provider for advice before going to an office or care center and waiting for an appointment. That's also a better strategy than going to an emergency room, but these warning signs can help people differentiate a cough or cold or respiratory symptoms without warning signs, from the type of signs that might lead you to want to get help from a medical provider urgently.

To prevent catching swine flu, colds or other strains of flu and viruses:

If you live with or care for someone known to have the swine flu virus, you should assume that you, too, can spread the disease. Wear a surgical face mask (model N95) while contacting and tending to someone with a virus, especially children, in case they cough or sneeze when you are close to them. Wash hands always before you touch your face, nose, eyes and mouth and before (as well as after) you touch other people's faces, mucous tissue. You should also wash your hands after you cough or sneeze and always use a tissue to cover your mouth and nose. Immediately throw the tissue away after one use. Wash your hands after touching used tissues. Cough into your elbow if you do not have a tissue. Don't use your bare hand unless you wash hands immediately after and before you touch anything or anyone.

To prevent spreading swine flu, colds or other strains of flu and viruses:

Even if you do not yet have symptoms, you can have the virus and spread it before you know you have it for one or two days after catching the flu. When you know you have been exposed, or when you know the risk is high for catching it, wash hands very frequently.

Stay home from work or errands when sick, and keep your kids home if they or others in your family have any symptoms. The schools will recommend if it is safe for your children to attend school if there are other children from the school infected. Be prepared with day care alternatives if the schools announce a closure. Flu virus can live for approximately two hours on hard surfaces, perhaps longer on moist or soft materials. Use disinfectants recommended for control of viruses on surfaces that are commonly touched, such as telephones, door knobs, light switches, TV remote controllers, chair arms, public pens and pencils (take your own), and grocery cart handles, as well as the lavatory knobs, handles, and surfaces.

Remember:

1. Wash hands very frequently and be alert to what you touch with them.
2. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when sneezing and or coughing.
3. Stay away from large groups of people and around 6.
4. Don't touch your eyes nose or mouth without washing hands first.
5. Stay home when sick so other people don't get it.

For additional information on preventing exposure to and distribution of the flu viruses, see the related questions below.

*Underlying Medical Conditions or Other Factors That Create Higher Risk:

• children younger than 5 years old;
• persons aged 65 years or older;
• children and adolescents (younger than 18 years) who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy and who might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infections;
• pregnant women;
• adults and children who have pulmonary disorders (including asthma, for example) or who have cardiovascular, hepatic, hematological, neurologic, neuromuscular, or metabolic disorders (such as diabetes);
• adults and children who have immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications like steroids and post-transplant drugs, or caused by HIV/AIDS), and;
• residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities.
• people who are morbidly obese (see related question: Is obesity a risk factor for morbidity and mortality with Novel H1N1 - Swine Flu?)

Information for those in the UK, from NHS:

A doctor faced with a symptomatic patient cannot yet predict with certainty the course of their illness and whether or not they will be in the small proportion who may become more seriously ill. This is why antiviral medication is still being given to all those with swine flu in the UK, subject to their doctor's discretion. A doctor faced with a symptomatic patient cannot yet predict with certainty the course of their illness and whether or not they will be in the small proportion who may become more seriously ill. This is why antiviral medication is still being given to all those with swine flu in the UK, subject to their doctor's discretion.

More information taken from the NHS website:

It is important that as swine flu spreads, you know the symptoms of the disease so you can recognise it in yourself and others at an early stage.

Please read the information about the swine flu on the NHS website and consider your symptoms carefully before using the National Pandemic Flu Service mentioned below.

During the pandemic in 2009, most swine flu cases were mild, with symptoms similar to those of seasonal flu. Only a small number of people had more serious symptoms.

If you or members of your family end up with a fever (high temperature over 38°C/100.4°F) along with two or more of the following symptoms, you may have swine flu:

• unusual tiredness,
• headache,
• runny nose,
• sore throat,
• shortness of breath or cough,
• loss of appetite,
• aching muscles,
• diarrhoea or vomiting.

Checking For Symptoms:

It makes sense to always have a working thermometer at home, as fever is one of the main signs of this and many other Infectious Diseases.

The NHS website provides a National Pandemic Flu Service#. If you are concerned you may have swine flu, stay at home and check your symptoms using the online guides at the pandemic flu service.

Call your GP directly if:

• you have a serious existing illness that weakens your immune system, such as cancer,
• you are pregnant,
• you have a sick child under one year old,
• your condition suddenly gets much worse, or
• your condition is still getting worse after seven days (five days for a child).

# Note: the National Pandemic Flu Service is a new online service that will assess your symptoms and, if needed, provide an authorisation number that can be used to collect antiviral medication from a local collection point. For those who do not have internet access, the same service can be accessed by telephone on:

• Telephone: 0800 151 3100
• Minicom: 0800 151 3200

For more information available on the National Pandemic Flu Service site go to Flu Service: Q&A.

High-risk groups:

For most people, swine flu is a mild illness. Some people get better by staying in bed, drinking plenty of water and taking over-the-counter flu medication.

However, some groups of people are more at risk of serious illness if they catch swine flu, and will need to start taking antiviral medication as soon as it is confirmed that they have the flu.

It is already known that you are particularly at risk if you have:

• chronic (long-term) lung disease,
• chronic Heart disease,
• chronic kidney disease,
• chronic liver disease,
• chronic neurological disease (neurological disorders include motor neurone disease, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease),
• immunosuppression (whether caused by disease or treatment)and/or
• diabetes mellitus.

Also at risk are:

• patients who have had drug treatment for asthma within the past three years,
• pregnant women,
• people aged 65 and older, and
• young children under five years old.

It is vital that people in these higher-risk groups who catch swine flu get antivirals and start taking them as soon as possible, preferrably within 48 hrs of first signs.

Answer 2

Swine Flu (in Pigs)Swine Influenza (Swine Flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses including H1N1 and H3N2. Pigs that contract swine flu suffer from similar symptoms as do humans with influenza.

It has mutated into the "Novel H1N1" (A-H1N1/09, Pandemic Swine Flu) form of the virus, which has the ability to be passed on to humans. This new form is highly contagious and can be passed from person to person and rarely from a person back to pigs.

Human Flu Versus Swine FluHuman Influenza refers to one of the three major types of flu viruses ( Influenza type A,B,C) endemic to the human population (orthomyxoviridae). These are distinguished from animal flu passed to humans as a result of a mutation in an animal strain that allows it to be able to invade the cells of humans. Diseases that are able to pass from animals to humans are called zoonotic diseases. Swine Flu (in Humans)Additional Information about Type A Influenza Novel H1N1 (aka A-H1N1/09):

• The 2009 Swine Flu is also known by several other names world wide. In the US it is called Swine Flu, 2009 Swine Flu, Novel H1N1, New H1N1 Influenza, A H1N1, and more officially now by the CDC A-H1N1/09 Virus. It has different names in other countries as well, for example: it is called Schweinegrippe in Germany, la Grippe A in France, Mexican Flu in the Netherlands, SOIV (Swine Origin Influenza Virus) in Canada, and la epidemia in Mexico.

• It has genetic material from multiple strains of flu from pigs, one from Eurasian swine flu, also genetic material from North American swine flu, human flu, and Avian (bird) flu. This is called a "quadruple reassortant" virus, meaning it was made by mutations involving four genomes (or sometimes called quintuple if the European and Asian strains are counted separately).

• It has the potential to be a deadly flu, although the first wave has been mild. This is also the way the 1918 Spanish flu (a different H1N1 virus), that was so deadly, began. It became much more virulent in its second wave. The reason that it has potential to be worse than most Type A H1N1 virus strains that humans can get, is that there have not been strains even somewhat similar to this new one in the past, so there is no immunity from hereditary sources or from prior vaccinations or exposure. It is totally new, so people may have much more trouble with it than with the typical seasonal flu viruses. The outbreak seemed to begin in Mexico, but it may have actually started at a pig farm in the US and then mutated to a strain that humans caught and passed to other humans who took it to Mexico.

• A person who has this virus presents with typical seasonal flu symptoms, such as chills, fever, sore throat, and cough. The original Swine flu virus that pigs get does not ordinarilyreadily transmit from pig to human. It has happened with farm workers in very close contact with the pigs, but it has been rare. Because of the ability of viruses to rapidly evolve and mutate into new and different strains, when there is prolonged contact between humans and infected pigs or their environment, the virus can "morph" into a new kind that humans may also get. Once in the human host, it can then be passed to other people by close human to human contact. See the related questions below for more detail on what caused this unique virus to become infectious to humans.

• The A-H1N1/09 (2009 swine flu) virus is spread on respiratory droplets from uncovered coughs and sneezes, and by direct or close contact with an infected person. However, wearing ordinary surgical masks is not an effective preventive measure since a virus is sub-microscopic and can pass through these masks unfiltered. The masks can, however, be helpful in preventing a person already with the flu from spreading their virus by coughing or sneezing without covering their mouths. The masks will trap the droplets on the inside of the mask. There are respirators and specially designed face masks (N95) that can be effective to prevent the passage of the microbe in the air to you from others, when properly fitted to the face. Avoid people who are sneezing or coughing, keep a distance of approximately 6 feet from an infected person. Be very careful when touching public surfaces that others may have touched, and wash your hands frequently. See the related questions below for more information on protecting yourself from getting the flu, and for the proper method of washing hands to remove germs.

• If given within two days of the first symptoms, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information says that treatment with either of these two of the anti-viral medications currently on the market, oseltamivir and zanamivir, can be effective in lessening the ability of the virus to invade cells and lessen the severity of the symptoms. Otherwise, the treatment is symptomatic (cough medicine if there is a cough, fever medicine for fever, etc.), the same as for other types of the seasonal flu viruses, unless severe respiratory distress is realized. See the related questions below for more information about treatment for swine flu and symptoms that may require urgent medical attention.

Symptoms:

• Fever.
• Cough.
• Sore throat.
• Muscle and joint pain.
• Shortness of breath.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Diarrhea.

The illness may elevate to a severe respiratory illness within about five days.
H1N1 is a type of influenza (flu) virus. Early on, H1N1 flu was referred to as swine flu. In 2009, H1N1 is

causing illness in countries around the world.

Answer 3

It is a strain of virus. It is commonly called the Swine Flu virus and has been around for many decades. The pandemic A-H1N1/09 flu virus is brand new and different than the other H1N1 viruses. See more in related questions.

Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. The "classical" swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930. Swine flu viruses cause illness in pigs, but the death rates are low. This new virus, although it is being called "swine flu," is not the same virus.

Answer 4

They are viruses that cause influenza, a respiratory infection.

Swine influenza (flu), also known as H1N1 (or another kind of swine flu is called H1N1/09 the pandemic swine flu), is called that because it originally was a type that was found as a disease of pigs (swine). Bird flu (Avian Flu) was originally a flu that only birds got.

Now, through mutations of these viruses, we hear about them more because they can infect humans. Bird flu is an extremely rare disease in humans but it is an especially bad virus that kills 50% of the people who get it. Swine flu, the H1N1/09 type, is now a pandemic because it spreads very easily, but luckily the symptoms in most people are mild. There are still serious effects of it, and many people across the world have died from it. So, it is recommended that all who can should get a vaccination against it.

Answer 5

There are many different flu viruses called both H1N1 and swine flu, and this is very confusing because the same names are used for different things. In the type of swine flu that pigs get (the original "swine flu"), they are usually referring to the same virus, just called by different names.

But there are H1N1 flu viruses that pigs do not get, and/or that are not the same virus.

For the "swine flu" that caused the pandemic of 2009, the names are interchanged often in common use, and that adds to confusion. To be specific and more correct in referring to this type of flu virus, it is best to not call it simply H1N1 or simply swine flu. To be more specific, it is called the A-H1N1/09 influenza virus and the pandemic swine flu.

Please see the related question below that will help clarify the terminology and names for the 2009 pandemic "swine" flu.

Answer 6

It is called the swine flu. Look it up on the internet.