Swine flu is the common name for the novel influenza A virus H1N1, first identified in March 2009. According to the World Health Organization, swine flu became a pandemic, with cases reported in more than 200 countries.
Symptoms
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, headache, muscle pain, sore throat, runny nose and nasal congestion. Almost 40 percent of people with swine flu also complain of vomiting, diarrhea or both.
Course
A 2009 article in Lancet says that symptoms of swine flu appear, on average, within 1.4 days of infection. In 90 percent of healthy adults, symptoms peak two to three days after onset and resolve completely within five to seven days.
Diagnosis
Swine flu can be diagnosed clinically (on the basis of symptoms) or through laboratory tests. According to the CDC, rapid flu tests miss between 30 percent and 90 percent of swine flu; however, other tests are expensive and typically take several days to obtain results.
Treatment
According to the CDC, swine flu is treated with a class of antiviral drugs known as neuraminidase inhibitors, which include Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir). Earlier drugs such as amantidine and rimantidine, used to treat seasonal flu, are ineffective against swine flu.
Prevention
According to the World Health Organization, vaccine for seasonal flu doesn't offer protection against swine flu. Like seasonal flu vaccine, swine flu vaccine is available in nasal spray and injection forms.
References
- World Health Organization Pandemic Flu
- Lancet Infectious Disease; Incubation Periods of Acute Respiratory Viral Infections: A Systematic Review; J Lessler, NG Reich, R Brookmeyer, TM Perl, KE Nelson, DA Cummings; May 2009
- New England Journal of Medicine; Emergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus in Humans. Novel Swine-Origin Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Investigation Team; June 18 2009
