What is flu?
How is swine flu different?
How does it spread?
Is it safe to eat pigs?
Should I restrict my travel?
What is a pandemic?
What are the symptoms of flu?
Is there a vaccine?
Is there a treatment?
Can children take Tamiflu?
What are the side effects of Tamiflu?
What are the complications of flu?
How long would I be infectious?
What can you do to limit the impact?
What can I do to avoid getting flu?
What is flu?
Influenza is a viral infection which attacks the nose, throat and respiratory tract. Viruses are too small to be seen by the naked eye. They can't multiply on their own, so they have to invade a “host” cell and take over its machinery in order to be able to make more virus particles. A flu virus is made up of an inner layer which contains the genes (reproductive material) and an outer layer on which there are 2 types of protein - Haemagglutinin (“H”) and Neuraminidase (“N”). These proteins determine the ability of the virus particle to attach itself to a cell. Once attached, the genes pass into the cell and replicate, generating new virus particles. The cells lining the respiratory passages that we breathe through are particularly susceptible to virus attacks because they are not covered by protective skin. There are at least 9 types of N and 16 types of H proteins – hence the current Swine Flu is H/N. Avian flu is still about but has yet made the leap from animal: human transmission to human: human transmission. In addition there is still likely to be a different virus causing usual flu this winter
How is swine flu different?
The current strain of swine flu is generally the same type of virus as other flu viruses. Unlike avian flu, "swine" flu seems to be very infectious but not lethal.
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How does it spread?
The main way that influenza viruses are spread is from person to person in respiratory droplets of coughs and sneezes. (This is called "droplet spread.") This happens when minute droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person are propelled through the air to the mouth or nose of someone nearby. The viruses also can be spread when a person touches respiratory droplets on another person or an object and then touches their own mouth or nose before washing their hands. The virus can survive on a surface for some hours.
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Is it safe to eat pigs?
Swine flu is not transmitted through cooked food. To date, there is no evidence that anyone has been infected by eating pork.
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Should I restrict my travel?
There are currently no travel restrictions but it may be wise to avoid "hot spots" if travel is not essential.
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What is a pandemic?
A pandemic is a world-wide outcreak of an infectious disease. Influenza pandemics are rare events that can rapidly infect virtually all countries. Once international spread begins, pandemics are considered unstoppable, since they are caused by a virus that spreads very rapidly by coughing or sneezing. The fact that infected people can shed virus before symptoms appear adds to the risk of international spread.
The severity of disease and the number of deaths caused by a pandemic virus vary greatly, and cannot be predicted before the virus emerges. During past pandemics, attack rates reached 25-35% of the total population. However, the pandemic would attack in waves, so not all victims would have the condition at the same time. Under the best circumstances, with the new virus causing only mild disease, the world could still experience an estimated 2 million to 7.4 million deaths. Projections for a more virulent virus are much higher. The 1918 pandemic, which was exceptional, killed at least 40 million people. In the USA, the mortality rate during that pandemic was around 2.5%.
Pandemics can cause large surges in the numbers of people seeking medical or hospital treatment, temporarily overwhelming health services. High rates of worker absenteeism can also interrupt other essential services, such as the police, transport and communications. Because of lack of immunity in the population, rates of illness could peak fairly rapidly within a community. This means that local social and economic disruption may be temporary. Based on past experience, a second wave of infection should be anticipated within a year.
All countries are likely to experience emergency conditions during a pandemic. The chances of other countries helping, as seen during natural disasters or localized disease outbreaks, will be unlikely as governments focus on protecting their own populations.
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What are the symptoms of flu?
Flu is a respiratory illness. Symptoms of flu include fever, headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, and muscle aches. Children can have additional gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhoea, but these symptoms are uncommon in adults. Although the term "stomach flu" is sometimes used to describe vomiting, nausea, or diarrhoea, these illnesses are caused by certain other viruses, bacteria, or possibly parasites, and are rarely related to influenza.
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Is there a vaccine?
Vaccines are produced each year for seasonal influenza but will not protect against pandemic flu. A vaccine against the HINI virus is under development and should be available later this year. Supplies may be limited.
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Is there a treatment?
The symptoms can be treated with paracetamol to lower the temperature and warm drinks to soothe the throat. Antiviral agents such as Tamiflu can also be used to prevent an attack or to lessen the severity of an attack. Tamiflu reduces the symptoms by up to one third, the duration of an attack by just over one third and the risk of complicationsd by two thirds. Trials have shown it to be almost 90% effective in preventing infection of those who have been in close contact with flu patients.
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Can children take Tamiflu?
Children weighing more than 40 kg can take an adult dose. At present, there is no paediatric capsule of a lower dose for children weighing less than 40 kg. An oral suspension for children is available but has a much shorter shelf life. It has therefore not been stockpiled.
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What are the side effects of Tamiflu?
The most frequent side effects in trials were short-lived nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea but the numbers were almost the same as for those taking a dummy capsule.
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What are the complications of flu?
In children, the commonest complication is infection of the ears and sinuses. In adults, pneumonia can occur. In the cases of bird flu encountered so far, the cause of death has been either pneumonia or multiple organ failure. Note that many of these cases have been in remote, rural locations with a consequent delay in diagnosis and treatment.
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How long would I be infectious?
You are normally infectious from the day before you develop symptoms for 5 days.
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What can you do to limit the impact?
Faculty of Occupational Medicine has developed guidance for employers that can be found at www.facoccmed.ac.uk. The company should establish a task group to develop a contingency plan to maintain business operations. Part of this plan could be the procurement of Tamiflu for employees and their immediate families.
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What can I do to avoid getting flu?
By far, the single best way to prevent seasonal flu is for individuals, especially people at high risk for serious complications from the flu, to get a vaccination each autumn. A flu jab may also prime the immune system to help the body’s natural defences against flu.
There are other good habits that can help prevent the flu: