The swine flu virus, alternatively known by its scientific
name, the Type A H1N1 virus, is responsible for causing the major
outbreak in evidence today. The new virus was first detected in US
citizens about a month ago in April 2009. The swine flu virus is
capable of spreading person-to-person in much the way that regular flu
spreads.
The virus came to the associated with swine because early tests
revealed that the genetic structure of this virus is strikingly similar
to the genetic structure found in influenza viruses that attack
populations of pigs in North America. But studies carried out after
that have yielded results that show that this initial assessment
was somewhat flawed. This virus has parent genes from the normal pig
flu virus that is seen in Europe and Asia, but it also possesses
fragments of genes from viruses that attack birds and humans. The swine
flu virus is today known as the triple-reassortment virus for this
reason.
There have been several instances of swine flu infection in the US in
the past month; the first ones were found in California and Texas.
Swine flu infections have rapidly spread and practically no state is
left out now. The CDC advises that infections of the swine flu virus
are contagious and spreading from person to person; how contagious
these infections
are is not currently known. Swine flu infections show
up symptoms that are not all that different from symptoms of the
familiar flu bug: a fever, a cough, a runny nose, body aches, and so
on. Swine flu however, gives people the additional afflictions of
diarrhea and nausea. Swine flu kills in about the same manner as
regular flu, as well.
Normal seasonal flu affects certain vulnerable people, the very young
and very old, for example, with particular ferocity. While complete
information is not in at this point, it is suspected that people who
are normally considered vulnerable to seasonal flu must also be
considered vulnerable to swine flu. Pregnant women, and people with
medical conditions such as diabetes or asthma, are especially
vulnerable.
And there is one thing about swine flu that sets it apart from seasonal
influenza though. People who are older than 65 are normally more
vulnerable to seasonal influenza than younger people; they however seem
to be less vulnerable to swine flu than the rest of the population.
About one in three above the age of 60 appears to have antibodies
against the virus.
Normal seasonal flu can be no more trouble than an annoying fever and
cold sometimes; in some seasons and in some people though, it can be so
terrible that it causes death. It is not known at this time how often
swine flu attacks with serious effects.
Swine flu spreads from person to person mainly through the mist a sick
person puts out in the air when he coughs or sneezes. The CDC states
that this virus spreads in the same way that the regular seasonal flu
virus does.The CDC further states that people, once they are infected,
can begin to be contagious from a day before they develop symptoms.
As you can see, things are still in a state of flux given how new this
disease is on the scene. Stay tuned for more information as things
clear up with time.
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