Swine Flu (H1N1/09)

Ohio, like the rest of the US states are no longer keeping counts and data separately about the swine flu from the data about all flu cases. So complete information is no longer available. Additionally, there may be some ongoing cases in limited locations around the world, including in Ohio. However, the specifics and counts of cases are no longer being tracked by CDC, WHO, the US states, and most other countries, now that the pandemic has been declared over. Influenza cases are monitored, but specific H1N1/09 counts (and the lab tests needed to isolate the specific virus to be able to count them correctly) aren't being done. Influenza cases in general are monitored, but statistics are not being kept for H1N1/09 cases separately from other influenza types for reporting any longer in the post pandemic phase.

There are four antiviral medicines, such as Tamiflu, that can help reduce the severity and length of the influenza illness (and other viral infections). They should be given within the first 48 hours of onset of symptoms to be effective. There is no similar medicine for the common cold yet. For colds the way to get well faster is to treat the symptoms of cough, fever, aches, etc. with over-the-counter medicines and to rest in bed and drink plenty of fluids.

Yes, it can indirectly. Swine flu can cause dehydration which can cause kidney failure if very severe. This is the importance of drinking plenty of water when ill with infections.

No you can not. H1N1 is transferred just like any other cold or flu which means physical contact with their body or bodily fluids.

Influenza viruses can be destroyed with heat, so if sufficiently heated, the microwaved virus should be neutralized. Common cooking temperatures will be hot enough, 167-212°F (75-100°C) does the trick.

Adults shed influenza virus from the day before symptoms begin through 5-10 days after illness onset. However, the amount of virus shed, and presumably infectivity, decreases rapidly by 3-5 days after onset in an experimental human infection model. Young children also might shed virus several days before illness onset, and children can be infectious for 10 or more days after onset of symptoms. Severely immunocompromised persons can shed virus for weeks or months.

Drink lots of water, rest in bed, and eat nutritious foods. Stay out of public and wash your hands frequently to avoid passing it along to others.

There are over the counter medicines for the symptoms of cough, congestion, aches and fever, but there are no drugs to stop the infection the way antibiotics can stop a bacterial infection. There are antiviral medicines that can lessen the duration and severity of symptoms, but they are not very effective if given after the first two days of symptoms. However, usually the symptoms are gone after a week to 10 days even without treatment.

Ask your pharmacist for suggestions for OTC products to treat your specific symptoms until your body can cure the viral infection.

If you have been exposed to the virus that causes H1N1 Pandemic Swine Flu, either from having had the flu or from getting a vaccination for it, then your body will have made antibodies to the virus, as long as you have a healthy immune system. Once your body has made antibodies to that virus, you are immune to the disease if exposed in the future, as long as it is the exact same virus and not a mutated form of it. This immunity is provided by the previously made antibodies.

No, there are forms of flu that are in various animal species besides pigs and birds such as cats, dogs and horses. Very many of the flu viruses that humans get do come from mutations of viruses in birds and swine, but not all of them do. Some flu viruses also infect only people and some chimpanzees.

Yes. In fact, rubbing alcohol is already mixed half-and-half with water.

Usually a high fever lasts only a few days for a normal bout of the flu without secondary infections, perhaps 3 days at the most, although low grade fevers can accompany flu symptoms for slightly longer. All symptoms of the flu are usually gone in 7 to 10 days, although sometimes a cough can last for a couple of weeks after the other symptoms are gone.

0.75 million people died from the hong kong flu and i am sorry i don't know when the hong kong flu got away :( from hasini studying at mount view primary at the moment

wash your hands take them to the hospital.

It is quite normal and not uncommon for your arm to sometimes be tender, red and swollen at the point of the injection of the vaccine. This is due to the desired immune system response to the vaccination. It means the shot is working and so is your immune system. It usually lasts less than 3 days. The best thing to do, even though it may hurt more at first, is to use the arm normally. The more you use it doing normal things, the less it will hurt. You can take mild analgesics like Tylenol or Ibuprofen if it is too uncomfortable, or ask your pharmacist what would be helpful to make you more comfortable. But the best thing is use and time. If it stays sore for longer than a few days, contact your health care professional to be sure that you don't need an exam to rule out a bacterial infection from the needle. Drink plenty of fluids.

In the US, through special provisions made by the US Food and Drug Administration, a fast track for approval was implemented to speed the regulatory process. The vaccines were made with all the same ingredients as the seasonal flu shots had used for decades and had proven safe and effective, so extensive trials were not required, although some trials in animals and humans were still performed.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) spearheaded the search for the best virus particles to use to create the vaccine and once that was selected, they also cultured the viruses to provide seed stock to the manufacturers to grow virus to make the vaccines as quickly as possible.

It was a surprisingly quick process from start to finish and went faster than was initially anticipated. The work began in Spring 2009 and by the beginning of the Northern Hemisphere flu season that same fall, the vaccine was already being made available to those at highest risk. Before the flu season was over, millions of doses of the vaccine had been created and used.

The immune system can have difficulty dealing with more than one type of germ at a time, so when it is busy fighting the flu, other microbes like bacteria can get a foothold. The problems a patient with the flu can have clearing phlegm from their lungs also allows opportunity for microbes (germs) to grow in the moist lung bases. Secondary pneumonia, either viral or bacterial, is the most common secondary infection in the flu.

H1N1 is the general name of several influenza viruses, of which H1N1/09, the pandemic swine flu, is one. It is a Type A influenza virus and the H and N stand for the two proteins on the outer surface of the virus. See the related question below with more information about the make up of H1N1.

The swine flu cough is usually very easy to distinguish from other types of coughs.
It will usually sound something like this "oink" "oink" "snort!" "oink"!

In the Philippines as of July 3rd, 2009 there have been 1,709 confirmed cases of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (aka swine flu) with one death, a 49 year old woman June 19th, 2009.

What are you talking about? You typed the same exact thing? Yes it's the same, it's Bird Flu aka Avian Flu, and technically called H5N1. Your question is confusing, it takes on the same characteristics as the following mock question. Does CONFUSING mean the same thing as confusing? Hope that helped buddy.

Unless they have a high fever, yes and they probably should have one because they are sick. However, there are a few circumstances when the vaccine should not be given. See the related question below about who should not get a flu vaccination.

From CBS2Chicago.com: Shingles Vaccine Caution Urged Around Infants Maker Says Patients With Live Vaccine Should Be Careful Around Infants, Immunocompromised The Chicago CBS newstory featured a grandmother who stayed away from her newborn grandchild for 8 weeks because: "They called Reina's pediatrician, a major medical center, a children's hospital, the CDC, and the vaccine-maker, Merck. No one could say for sure." From StreeetInsider.com: Tell your health care provider if you expect to be in close contact (including household contact) with newborn infants, someone who may be pregnant and has not had chickenpox or been vaccinated against chickenpox, or someone who has problems with their immune system. Your health care provider can tell you what situations you may need to avoid. Evidently this is an open question. I'm not sure where the recommendation for 8 weeks came from in this case. Somewhere else I came across three months; but the sources are not clear-cut.