What is H1N1?

An outbreak of the H1N1 virus has caused concerns of a worldwide pandemic. As of this writing, the World Health Organization reports that thirty-nine countries have documented cases of the disease. The H1N1 virus, called the swine flu is a virus that causes influenza in humans. The virus has gone through a recent mutation into its current form. Due to this mutation, humans have no protection from the disease.

The virus contains two genes from a typical pig virus, 1 gene from the avian flu virus, and 1 gene from human influenza virus. So now that we've responded to the query of what is H1N1.

The symptoms of the H1N1 swine flu virus in people are similar to the those of the typical seasonal influenza virus.

They include: fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue. A number of people have also reported diarrhea and nausea.

Severe disease and death has happened as a result of illness associated with this serious disease. For the drug Tamiflu drug to give you full effect it should be diagnosed within 48 hours of you showing up the symptoms. In the USA alone, about 36,000 people die each year from flu related issues.
Now that we have covered what is H1N1 and its symptoms, how about H1N1 complications and special risk factors? The following people are at a major risk for complications: people 65 years of age and older, youngsters below the age of five, pregnant women and those with certain chronic conditions. problems. These chronic conditions consist of people with asthma, diabetes, COPD, and people with compromised immune systems. This includes those taking immunosuppressant drugs.

People with any of the risk factors above should consult with their physician even before a flu onset occurs. Medical professionals are worried that a worldwide pandemic could occur at any time. Pandemics seem to spread in waves and frequently pass around the planet two or three times. The second or third wave is more serious than the firsst. This is how it happened in the 1918 flu pandemic which is thought to have killed at least 50 million people. It is possible a more significant outbreak of the disease will occur during the normal flu season.
If you are worried about the safety your family, or know someone that has some of the special risk factors stated above, do some swine flu preparation. Take steps today to protect yourself and your loved ones from the swine flu. Once a pandemic strikes, it could be too late to do anything.