What is swine flu?
Swine flu is a general term for influenza viruses adapted to pigs, causing a respiratory disease in the animals. Swine flu can infect humans and in such cases most often is transmitted from a pig to someone handling pigs. Swine flu can also pass from person-to-person.
Scientists have long been concerned that a new flu virus could launch a worldwide pandemic of a killer disease. A new virus could evolve when different flu viruses infect a pig, a person or a bird, mingling their genetic material. The resulting hybrid could spread quickly because people would have no natural defenses against it.
Are there any confirmed cases of swine flu in Snohomish County?
No. However, two people who live in Snohomish County, a 3-year-old boy in Snohomish and a 34-year-old woman in Lynnwood are among of six patients in Washington state with probable cases of swine flu. A 36-year-old pediatrician working for The Everett Clinic in Mill Creek is also believed to have the swine flu.
Is this swine flu virus contagious?
The swine flu virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. However, it is not known how easily the virus spreads between people at this time.
How does swine flu spread?
Spread of this swine flu is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads —mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with the flu. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
What are the symptoms?
Symptoms are similar to those of regular flu. They include: Fever; cough, sore throat, body aches, headache chills and fatigue, occasionally, vomiting and diarrhea.
About 36,000 people die from flu-related causes and hundreds of thousands are hospitalized every year. Why is this being called a health emergency?
It’s about the potential. None of the 109 confirmed cases in the United States have resulted in deaths, although a girl with swine flu visiting from Mexico died here. Even so, the virus here, A (H1N1), is identical to the strain of swine flu that is killing people in Mexico. There are worries that the flu has the potential to spread widely.
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