Also called: Swine flu
Swine flu is an infection caused by a virus. It's named for a virus that pigs can get. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. The virus is contagious and can spread from human to human. Symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
There are antiviral medicines you can take to prevent or treat swine flu. There is a vaccine available to protect against swine flu. You can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza by
Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. You can also use alcohol-based hand cleaners.
Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Trying to avoid close contact with sick people.
Staying home from work or school if you are sick.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
How to Prevent and Cure the Flu Naturally without a Vaccine
Part 1: Preventing the Flu with Vitamin D
Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread and common problem that causes chronic conditions, debilitating diseases and, in some cases, death. Over one million people die each year from vitamin D deficiency most likely due to not getting enough sun exposure because of skin cancer fears. The irony is that Vitamin D actually prevents cancer and other diseases including the swine flu!
Doctors recommend taking Vitamin D regularly to boost your immune system. "Vitamin D is produced in the body during exposure to sunlight," says Dr. Oz, host of the Dr. Oz Show. "During the winter we tend to get less exposure so vitamin D supplements are recommended. People who take vitamin D supplements have better luck avoiding the seasonal flu; there is no reason to think that it won't do the same for H1N1 virus. Flu outbreaks tend to occur in places where solar radiation is low."
Part 2: Curing the Flu with Homeopathy
Throughout history, homeopathic remedies have been used to treat many different strains of flu. Now many believe that homeopathy will treat this latest H1N1 strain of swine flu. "Based on the symptoms, homeopathy can offer an effective cure to swine flu," says Harcharanjeet Kaur, a homeopath at Bakson's Homeopathy Clinic. "Moreover, it does not have any side effects."
In 1918, homeopathic remedies were used to treat many victims of the Spanish flu, which killed over 50 million people. 28% of the people treated by western medicine died while only 1% of those treated with homeopathy did. "Gelsemium and Bryonia were the two homeopathic remedies that proved to be effective against the H1N1 strain back then," says Mukesh Batra, acclaimed homeopath in India. "These could be of great use even today."
Homeopathic Doctors in Mexico City studied the records from 1918 and determined the many similarities between the two pandemics. They successfully treated patients with swine flu in May of 2009.
This news comes at a time when the government is rolling out the latest H1N1 swine flu vaccine, touting the reasons to get the injection, and the media is using its typical scare tactics to get people to line up for the shot- which appears to be not only unnecessary, but also harmful. According to the CDC, "A vaccine, like any medicine, could possibly cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions."
Homeopaths agree that the vaccine is not the cure that the media makes it out to be. "The current vaccine against the seasonal influenza strain H1N1 is highly unlikely to provide protection against this variant," says homeopath Dr. Sulaikha Hamza. "In case preventive measures do not work or you are already dealing with swine influenza, homeopathic remedies can serve as an appropriate solution."
Vitamin D deficiency is a widespread and common problem that causes chronic conditions, debilitating diseases and, in some cases, death. Over one million people die each year from vitamin D deficiency most likely due to not getting enough sun exposure because of skin cancer fears. The irony is that Vitamin D actually prevents cancer and other diseases including the swine flu!
Doctors recommend taking Vitamin D regularly to boost your immune system. "Vitamin D is produced in the body during exposure to sunlight," says Dr. Oz, host of the Dr. Oz Show. "During the winter we tend to get less exposure so vitamin D supplements are recommended. People who take vitamin D supplements have better luck avoiding the seasonal flu; there is no reason to think that it won't do the same for H1N1 virus. Flu outbreaks tend to occur in places where solar radiation is low."
Part 2: Curing the Flu with Homeopathy
Throughout history, homeopathic remedies have been used to treat many different strains of flu. Now many believe that homeopathy will treat this latest H1N1 strain of swine flu. "Based on the symptoms, homeopathy can offer an effective cure to swine flu," says Harcharanjeet Kaur, a homeopath at Bakson's Homeopathy Clinic. "Moreover, it does not have any side effects."
In 1918, homeopathic remedies were used to treat many victims of the Spanish flu, which killed over 50 million people. 28% of the people treated by western medicine died while only 1% of those treated with homeopathy did. "Gelsemium and Bryonia were the two homeopathic remedies that proved to be effective against the H1N1 strain back then," says Mukesh Batra, acclaimed homeopath in India. "These could be of great use even today."
Homeopathic Doctors in Mexico City studied the records from 1918 and determined the many similarities between the two pandemics. They successfully treated patients with swine flu in May of 2009.
This news comes at a time when the government is rolling out the latest H1N1 swine flu vaccine, touting the reasons to get the injection, and the media is using its typical scare tactics to get people to line up for the shot- which appears to be not only unnecessary, but also harmful. According to the CDC, "A vaccine, like any medicine, could possibly cause serious problems, such as severe allergic reactions."
Homeopaths agree that the vaccine is not the cure that the media makes it out to be. "The current vaccine against the seasonal influenza strain H1N1 is highly unlikely to provide protection against this variant," says homeopath Dr. Sulaikha Hamza. "In case preventive measures do not work or you are already dealing with swine influenza, homeopathic remedies can serve as an appropriate solution."
Influenza A virus subtype H1N1
Influenza A (H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenza A virus and the most common cause of influenza (flu) in humans. Some strains of H1N1 are endemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 strains caused a few percent of all human flu infections in 2004–2005. Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza).
In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic. This strain is often called swine flu by the public media.
Swine influenza
Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, or pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.
During the mid-20th century, identification of influenza subtypes became possible, allowing accurate diagnosis of transmission to humans. Since then, only 50 such transmissions have been confirmed. These strains of swine flu rarely pass from human to human. Symptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans 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 recommended time of isolation is about five days.
Spanish flu
The Spanish flu, also known as la grippe, La Grippe Española, or La Pesadilla, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral infectious disease, that killed some 50 to 100 million people worldwide over about a year in 1918 and 1919. It is thought to be one of the most deadly pandemics in human history.
The 1918 flu caused an unusual number of deaths, possibly due to it causing a cytokine storm in the body. (The current H5N1 bird flu, also an Influenza A virus, has a similar effect.) The Spanish flu virus infected lung cells, leading to overstimulation of the immune system via release of cytokines into the lung tissue. This leads to extensive leukocyte migration towards the lungs, causing destruction of lung tissue and secretion of liquid into the organ. This makes it difficult for the patient to breathe. In contrast to other pandemics, which mostly kill the old and the very young, the 1918 pandemic killed unusual numbers of young adults, which may have been due to their healthy immune systems mounting a too-strong and damaging response to the infection
The term "Spanish" flu was coined because Spain was at the time the only European country where the press were printing reports of the outbreak, which had killed thousands in the armies fighting World War I. Other countries suppressed the news in order to protect morale.
Fort Dix outbreak
In 1976, a novel swine influenza A (H1N1) caused severe respiratory illness in 13 soldiers with 1 death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The virus was detected only from January 19 to February 9 and did not spread beyond Fort Dix.
Russian flu
The 1977–1978 Russian flu epidemic was caused by strain Influenza A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1). It infected mostly children and young adults under 23 because a similar strain was prevalent in 1947–57, causing most adults to have substantial immunity. The virus was included in the 1978–1979 influenza vaccine.
2009 A(H1N1) pandemic
In the 2009 flu pandemic, the virus isolated from patients in the United States was found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses – North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe – "an unusually mongrelised mix of genetic sequences."This new strain appears to be a result of reassortment of human influenza and swine influenza viruses, in all four different strains of subtype H1N1.
Preliminary genetic characterization found that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene was similar to that of swine flu viruses present in U.S. pigs since 1999, but the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M) genes resembled versions present in European swine flu isolates. The six genes from American swine flu are themselves mixtures of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu viruses. While viruses with this genetic makeup had not previously been found to be circulating in humans or pigs, there is no formal national surveillance system to determine what viruses are circulating in pigs in the U.S.
In April 2009, an outbreak of Influenza-like illness occurred in Mexico and the USA the CDC reported seven cases of novel A/H1N1 influenza. By April 24 it became clear that the outbreak of ILI in Mexico and the confirmed cases of novel influenza A in the southwest US were related and WHO issued a health advisory on the outbreak of "influenza like illness in the United States and Mexico". The disease then spread very rapidly, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 2,099 by May 7, despite aggressive measures taken by the Mexican government to curb the spread of the disease.
On June 11, 2009, the WHO declared an H1N1 pandemic, moving the alert level to phase 6, marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong flu.
On October 25, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama officially declared H1N1 a national emergency
A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service is scheduled for publication in the December 2009 American Journal of Roentgenology warning that H1N1 flu can cause pulmonary embolism, surmised as a leading cause of death in this current pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu.
March 21, 2010 worldwide update by the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) states that "213 countries and overseas territories/communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16,931 deaths."
In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic. This strain is often called swine flu by the public media.
INFLUENZA (FLU)
Types
Avian (A/H5N1 subtype) · Canine
Equine · Swine (A/H1N1 subtype)
Vaccines
2009 pandemic (Pandemrix)
ACAM-FLU-A · Fluzone · Influvac
Live attenuated (FluMist) · Optaflu
Treatment
Amantadine · Arbidol · Laninamivir
Oseltamivir · Peramivir · Rimantadine
Vitamin D · Zanamivir
Pandemics
2009 · 1968–1969 Hong Kong · 1918
Outbreaks
2008 West Bengal
2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1
2007 Australian equine
2006 H5N1 India · 1976 swine flu
Swine influenza
Swine influenza (also called swine flu, hog flu, or pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.
During the mid-20th century, identification of influenza subtypes became possible, allowing accurate diagnosis of transmission to humans. Since then, only 50 such transmissions have been confirmed. These strains of swine flu rarely pass from human to human. Symptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans 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 recommended time of isolation is about five days.
Spanish flu
The Spanish flu, also known as la grippe, La Grippe Española, or La Pesadilla, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral infectious disease, that killed some 50 to 100 million people worldwide over about a year in 1918 and 1919. It is thought to be one of the most deadly pandemics in human history.
The 1918 flu caused an unusual number of deaths, possibly due to it causing a cytokine storm in the body. (The current H5N1 bird flu, also an Influenza A virus, has a similar effect.) The Spanish flu virus infected lung cells, leading to overstimulation of the immune system via release of cytokines into the lung tissue. This leads to extensive leukocyte migration towards the lungs, causing destruction of lung tissue and secretion of liquid into the organ. This makes it difficult for the patient to breathe. In contrast to other pandemics, which mostly kill the old and the very young, the 1918 pandemic killed unusual numbers of young adults, which may have been due to their healthy immune systems mounting a too-strong and damaging response to the infection
The term "Spanish" flu was coined because Spain was at the time the only European country where the press were printing reports of the outbreak, which had killed thousands in the armies fighting World War I. Other countries suppressed the news in order to protect morale.
Fort Dix outbreak
In 1976, a novel swine influenza A (H1N1) caused severe respiratory illness in 13 soldiers with 1 death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. The virus was detected only from January 19 to February 9 and did not spread beyond Fort Dix.
Russian flu
The 1977–1978 Russian flu epidemic was caused by strain Influenza A/USSR/90/77 (H1N1). It infected mostly children and young adults under 23 because a similar strain was prevalent in 1947–57, causing most adults to have substantial immunity. The virus was included in the 1978–1979 influenza vaccine.
2009 A(H1N1) pandemic
In the 2009 flu pandemic, the virus isolated from patients in the United States was found to be made up of genetic elements from four different flu viruses – North American swine influenza, North American avian influenza, human influenza, and swine influenza virus typically found in Asia and Europe – "an unusually mongrelised mix of genetic sequences."This new strain appears to be a result of reassortment of human influenza and swine influenza viruses, in all four different strains of subtype H1N1.
Preliminary genetic characterization found that the hemagglutinin (HA) gene was similar to that of swine flu viruses present in U.S. pigs since 1999, but the neuraminidase (NA) and matrix protein (M) genes resembled versions present in European swine flu isolates. The six genes from American swine flu are themselves mixtures of swine flu, bird flu, and human flu viruses. While viruses with this genetic makeup had not previously been found to be circulating in humans or pigs, there is no formal national surveillance system to determine what viruses are circulating in pigs in the U.S.
In April 2009, an outbreak of Influenza-like illness occurred in Mexico and the USA the CDC reported seven cases of novel A/H1N1 influenza. By April 24 it became clear that the outbreak of ILI in Mexico and the confirmed cases of novel influenza A in the southwest US were related and WHO issued a health advisory on the outbreak of "influenza like illness in the United States and Mexico". The disease then spread very rapidly, with the number of confirmed cases rising to 2,099 by May 7, despite aggressive measures taken by the Mexican government to curb the spread of the disease.
On June 11, 2009, the WHO declared an H1N1 pandemic, moving the alert level to phase 6, marking the first global pandemic since the 1968 Hong Kong flu.
On October 25, 2009 U.S. President Barack Obama officially declared H1N1 a national emergency
A study conducted in coordination with the University of Michigan Health Service is scheduled for publication in the December 2009 American Journal of Roentgenology warning that H1N1 flu can cause pulmonary embolism, surmised as a leading cause of death in this current pandemic. The study authors suggest physician evaluation via contrast enhanced CT scans for the presence of pulmonary emboli when caring for patients diagnosed with respiratory complications from a "severe" case of the H1N1 flu.
March 21, 2010 worldwide update by the U.N.'s World Health Organization (WHO) states that "213 countries and overseas territories/communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 16,931 deaths."
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