Transcript Influenza A, H1N1 (swine flu)

Influenza A, H1N1
“Swine Flu”
The Facts and How
to Protect Yourself
Hi, I'm Swine.
Or pig flu.
Or H1N1 Flu.
I'm an H1N1 Type A Influenza virus.
I was first found in humans in
Mexico
I started in April.
I am in almost every country now.
I can pass between people.
I am in the news all the time now.
I'm very famous
What do you need to know about
the new H1N1 flu that everyone
is concerned about??
Prepared by
Azlaila bt zahari
What is ‘the flu’?
A sudden onset respiratory illness with
fever
– Affects nose, throat, air passages, and
lung
– Yearly epidemics
– Occurs worldwide causing significant
illness and death every year
Types of flu
• Type A: moderate to severe illness
– All age groups
– Humans and other animals
• Type B: milder epidemics
– Humans only
– Primarily affects children
• Type C: rarely reported in humans
– No epidemics
How are viruses
different from other germs?
• Typically much smaller than most infectious agents
• Viruses need to get a life!
– Don’t carry out independent metabolism
– Don’t divide in order to reproduce
– Can only reproduce inside living host cells
• Viruses turn host cells into virus factories
– Create viral parts inside cells
– Parts self-assemble into mature virus particles
• Potential outcomes: cell death, immune response
eliminates virus, some viruses (e.g. herpes) persist
What is Influenza A, H1N1 Swine
Flu?
 Swine influenza is a respiratory
disease of pigs caused by a virus. It
regularly causes outbreaks of
influenza among pigs
 Influenza A, H1N1 swine flu is a new
strain of the flu that moved from pigs
to humans and can be transmitted
from human to human.
Influenza A, H1N1 (swine flu)
Swine flu is different from
seasonal flu because:
It is a new strain of the virus
Humans do not have an
immunity from it
Immunizations received do
not offer protection against
the H1N1 swine flu
The current WHO phase of pandemic
alert is 6
How Does It Spread?
 Thought to be spread in the same way that seasonal
flu spreads
 Mainly from person to person when an infected
person coughs or sneezes and spreads tiny particles
into the air
 Sometimes by touching something with flu viruses on
it, and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes
How Long Can an Infected Person
Spread it to Others?
People are contagious as long as they
have symptoms, and up to 7 days after
they become sick
Children, especially infants, may be
contagious for longer periods
Viruses can live 2 hours or longer on
surfaces like tables, desks, and
doorknobs.
What are Signs and
Symptoms of the Flu?
 Similar to symptoms of regular human
flu:
 Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches,
headache, chills and fatigue
 May include diarrhea and vomiting
 May cause more serious symptoms in
individuals with chronic medical
conditions
 Pneumonia, respiratory failure, and
deaths have been reported.
Case Definitions for Infection with Swine-origin
Influenza A (H1N1)

A confirmed case defined as a
person with an acute febrile
respiratory illness with
laboratory confirmed by one
or more of the following tests.
1) Real-time RT-PCR
2) Viral culture
Vaccine??
 Vaccines are available to be given to
pigs to prevent swine influenza.
 There is NO VACCINE to protect
humans from swine flu, although the
CDC is formulating one.
 The seasonal influenza vaccine may
help to provide partial protection
against swine H3N2, but not against
swine H1N1 viruses like the one
circulating now.
Past Vaccines proved not safe
 In 1976 a new strain of swine flu started infecting
people and worried U.S. health officials started
widespread vaccination.
 More than 40 million people were vaccinated. But
several cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome, a severe
and sometime fatal condition that can be linked to
come vaccines, caused the U.S. government to stop
the program. The incident led to widespread distrust
of vaccines in general
Drugs are Highly Beneficial
 If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your
illness milder and make you feel better faster.
 Influenza antiviral drugs work best when started
soon after illness onset (within two 2 days),
 But treatment with antiviral drugs should still be
considered after 48 hours of symptom onset,
particularly for hospitalized patients or people at
high risk for influenza-related complications.
CDC Recommends
 CDC recommends the
use of oseltamivir or
zanamivir for the
treatment and/or
prevention of infection
with swine influenza
viruses.
Oseltamivir
 Oseltamivir (brand
name Tamiflu ®) is
approved to both treat
and prevent influenza
A and B virus
infection in people
one year of age and
older
Zanamivir
 Zanamivir (brand
name Relenza ®) is
approved to treat
influenza A and B
virus infection in
people 7 years and
older and to prevent
influenza A and B
virus infection in
people 5 years and
older.
What Can You Do to Protect Yourself and Others?
 Frequently wash your hands with soap and water for 1520 seconds
 Alcohol-based hand cleaners are OK
 Cover your coughs and sneezes by coughing and sneezing
into your arm, not your hands. Or, sneeze into a tissue
and discard it
 Avoid touching your nose, eyes and mouth
 Try to avoid close contact with people who appear sick,
and have a fever and cough
What Can You Do to Protect
Yourself and Others?
If you are sick, stay home
If your child is ill, keep them home from
school or childcare
Practice good health habits: get enough sleep,
eat nutritious food, keep physically active
If you smoke, quit.
What To Do if
Your Child is Sick
 If your child has these symptoms, seek immediate
medical care:
Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and
worse cough
Fever with a rash.
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