What is swine influenza?

What is swine influenza?

What is Swine Influenza? Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses do not usually infect humans, but rare human infections have occurred.

Why was the swine flu incorporated into a/Victoria products?

Since influenza caused by A/Victoria was active worldwide, industry was asked to incorporate the swine flu into an A/Victoria product to be used for populations at high risk.

What are the different types of flu in pigs?

At this time, there are three main influenza A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs in the United States: H1N1, H1N2, and H3N2. How does swine flu spread among pigs? Swine flu viruses are thought to be spread among pigs mostly through close contact and possibly from contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs.

What is the history of influenzalike illnesses?

In 1976, 2 recruits at Fort Dix, New Jersey, had an influenzalike illness. Isolates of virus taken from them included A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1n1), a strain similar to the virus believed at the time to be the cause of the 1918 pandemic, commonly known as swine flu.

What is swine flu and how is it different from covid-19?

(Similarly, COVID-19 is also a zoonotic disease—which means it jumped from animals to humans—though there’s no clear path as of right now.) But now, swine flu is just another seasonal influenza strain, Dr. Adalja says. That means it comes back every year (don’t worry, our flu vaccine has taken that into account, but more on that later).

Which blood types are most susceptible to the flu?

Type A’s are the lucky ones when it comes to influenza A; they have a generalized susceptibility to the less virulent strains of influenza A. Overall, influenza is probably most problematic year to year for Type AB’s. In general, they are more sensitive to infection by both influenza A and B than the other blood types.

How do pigs get the flu?

Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge.

What was the global H1N1 infection rate in 2009?

In a 5 August 2011 PLOS ONE article, researchers estimated that the 2009 H1N1 global infection rate was 11% to 21%, lower than what was previously expected.

Can a doctor treat swine flu (H1N1)?

A doctor can advise on individual needs. Most people recover from H1N1 without extensive medical intervention. In some cases, however, a doctor may prescribe an antiviral medication. These drugs can shorten the duration of symptoms and reduce their severity. Steps for managing swine flu symptoms and preventing further infection include:

How do I know if I have swine flu?

The rapid influenza diagnostic test can help identify swine flu. However, this test can vary in effectiveness and may show a negative result when a certain influenza virus strain is present. More accurate tests are available in specialist laboratories.