Swine flu!!!

[Abbas Bubakar El-ta'alu]

I still follow the events on this horrible outbreak and am happy, that it did not start from our beloved continent 'AFRICA' !!!
                          According to some sources: (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_influenza#Classification , there are many different types of swine flu and like human flu, the infection is constantly changing.  does not normally infect humans, although sporadic cases do occur usually in people who have had close contact with pigs. There have also been rare documented cases of humans passing the infection to other humans.
          Swine influenza (also called swine flu, pig Influenza, hog flu, and pig flu) refers to influenza caused by those strains of influenza virus that usually infect pigs and are called swine influenza virus (SIV).

Transmission to humans

          Transmission of swine influenza virus from pigs to humans is not common. When transmitted, it does not always cause human influenza and often, the only sign of infection is the presence of antibodies which are only detectable by laboratory tests. When transmission results in influenza in a human, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People who work with pigs, especially people with intense exposures, are at risk of catching swine flu. However, only about fifty such transmissions have been recorded since the mid-20th Century, when identification of influenza subtypes became possible. Eating pork does not pose a risk of infection. Rarely, these strains of swine flu can pass from human to human. In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.
          The 2009 flu outbreak in humans that is widely known as "swine flu" is due to an apparently virulent new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that was produced by reassortment from one strain of human influenza virus, one strain of avian influenza virus, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs  It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation.  This 2009 H1N1 strain causes the normal symptoms of influenza, such as fever, coughing and headache.   

Signs and symptoms of the monster:

In swine: In pigs influenza infection produces fever, lethargy, sneezing, coughing, difficulty breathing and decreased appetite. In some cases the infection can cause abortion. Although mortality is usually low (around 1-4%), the virus can produce weight loss and poor growth, causing economic loss to farmers. Infected pigs can lose up to 12 pounds of body weight over a 3 to 4 week period.
In humans: Direct transmission of a swine flu virus from pigs to humans is occasionally possible (this is called zoonotic swine flu). In all, 50 cases are known to have occurred since the first report in the medical literature in 1958, which have resulted in a total of six deaths. Of these six people, one was pregnant, one had leukemia, one had Hodgkin disease and two were known to be previously healthy. Despite these apparently low numbers of infections, the true rate of infection may be higher, since most cases only cause a very mild disease, and will probably never be reported or diagnosed.

Prevention in human transmission:  I
          nfluenza spreads between humans through coughing or sneezing and people touching something with the virus on it and then touching their own nose or mouth. Swine flu cannot be spread by pork products, since the virus is not transmitted through food. The swine flu in humans is most contagious during the first five days of the illness although some people, most commonly children, can remain contagious for up to ten days. Diagnosis can be made by sending a specimen, collected during the first five days for analysis.