May 3rd, 2009 What is Swine Influenza?
With all the media attention surrounding the Swine Flu outbreaks, many of you are probably wondering, what exactly is Swine Flu? How is it transmitted and what are symptoms and risks pertaining to the virus?
Swine Influenza, otherwise known as Swine Flu is caused by a strain of the influenza virus known as the swine influenza virus. The 2009 outbreaks were caused by a new strain comprised of at least four strains of influenza A virus subtype H1N1, including one strain endemic in humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in swine. The origin of this strain is currently unknown. However, on May 2, 2009, H1N1 was reported in pigs at a farm in Alberta, Canada, with a link to the 2009 swine flu outbreak in Mexico. The pigs are suspected to have caught this new strain of virus from a farm worker who recently traveled to Mexico, then showed symptoms of an influenza-like illness.These are “probable” cases, which have yet to be confirmed.
The virus can be transmitted to humans by pigs, however, there is no evidence that this is what caused the recent outbreaks. This new H1N1 virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human. However, at this time, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people. It cannot be transmitted by eating pork.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. The symptoms are similar to those of the common flu. In seasonal flu, there are certain people that are at higher risk of serious flu-related complications, including young children, pregnant women, people with chronic medical conditions and people 65 and older. It’s unknown at this time whether certain groups of people are at greater risk of serious flu-related complications from infection with this new virus.
