Add to your...
The Center of Disease Control (CDC) haves advised that the best prevention for Swine flu (H1N1) is the same preventions that are normally taken during seasonal flu season each year.
H1N1 is spread from person to person mainly thru sneezing and coughing by those who are sick or infected by the virus. People can also be infected by touching an object such as a door knob or computer keyboard or mouse which has the virus on it and then touching their mouth, eyes or nose. Good thing is that from August 2009 surfaces can be protected from spreading swine flu virus with Smittstopp.
Some ways to help prevent the spread of this flu are to frequently wash hands, cough or sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue and dispose of the tissue after use. If you share a work space with anyone, be sure to wipe your desk and computer down with a sanitizing wipe or other sanitizing product at the end of the day. If you have flu like symptoms, stay home and contact your family physician especially if you have recently traveled to Mexico. If your child is sick, don’t send them to school or daycare.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the current H1N1 flu seems to have a lengthy incubation period. This flu seems to have an incubation period of a week to 10 days before symptoms begin. This means that the virus can be spread by people who don’t even know that they are sick or infected.
In Mexico it seems that this flu might have reached its peak. As of May 8th, they have currently 1112 laboratory confirmed cases of H1N1 flu with 42 deaths. In the United States, the number of laboratory confirmed cases is 896 in 41 states with 2 deaths reported in the state of Texas. According to figures released May 8th by WHO, there are 2384 laboratory confirmed cases in 24 different countries.
Experts in the field of viruses are also still watching an epidemic of bird flu which is still continuing in parts of Asia and Africa. Cases of H1N1 have also shown up in South Korea and Hong Kong. Some experts are concerned for the possibility of these two flu viruses combining and there are discussions about doing research on this worse case scenario in a highly secure lab to see what that combination would look like.
Health officials have described 11 cases of Americans who seem to have been infected before the current flu outbreak with a virus that closely matches the H1N1 virus that has emerged from Mexico. These cases began in December 2005. This shows how questions are left unanswered as this outbreak continues to spread.
WHO further reports that younger people in the Southern Hemisphere may be especially vulnerable during their upcoming flu season because of malnourishment, wars, HIV infections and other factors. This can mean that a mild virus in wealthier countries can be very severe in developing countries. This also leaves open the question of how many people in the Southern Hemisphere may become very ill with this new flu virus.