Swine Flu Influenza - Information, Symptoms & Possible Mask Protection

The Swine Flu, also the swine influenza is rapidly spreading across the world at an exponential rate. A day doesn't pass us by where new findings of the flu are reported. Many major countries have reported this outbreak including 40 know current cases United States alone, plus other countries such as Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, Spain and Costa Rica with suspicions of South Korea and Austria.

At this stage the pandemic alert has been raised to a 4 by the WHO (World Health Organization). In a nutshell, the Swine Flu is a very common respiratory disease found in pigs (swine) that in most cases does not spread to humans. In the case of a pig, when it does catch this specific flu many do get quite ill and on average one to four percent of these cases end in a fatality. What makes this version of the swine flu dangerous is that is can and is spreading from human to human. The swine is thought to have originated from Mexico.

How can some catch the Swine Flu and What are the Symptoms? First off, you cannot catch the Swine flu by eating pork, according to the World Health Organization. However, the swine flu travels from human to human and can be caught quite easily, unfortunately. You can get sick with the swine flu if someone coughs on you since the disease actually travels in form of microscopic respiratory droplets as has been reported by the Infectious Disease Society of America. Transfer can also be made if you have made contact with the disease with your hands and then touched your mouth or eyes.

In most cases, infected people are actually contagious before they even begin to show any symptoms. These actual Swine Flu symptoms to have been reported include coughing, fever, loss of lack of appetite, fatigue to name the most common symptoms. The less frequent symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, running nose or sore through. All these Swine Flu symptoms are based on according to information from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).

Swine Flu Protection - Surgical and N95 Masks & Swine Flu Vaccines? If you have experienced any of these Swine Flu symptoms, stay home from work or school to avoid spreading the flu to others. That includes traveling through public transportation including airplanes. It is best to call your doctor or family physician immediately to be properly diagnosed and treated if you do indeed carry the Swine Flu. If visiting a hospital, it is key that the facility is aware of your visit so they can make preparations. Swine Flu protection comes with the basics such as regularly washing your hands throughout the day.

In terms of face masks, even though the CDC claims that there is not any conclusive evidence to support wearing face masks, they can offer some protection. Face masks are designed to prevent the person who wears them to help prevent spreading germs. There are two types of masks that are relevant in the Swine Flu. First, there are surgical masks which have been designed to keep your germs in, in essence to stop the spreading of the virus of you were to cough or sneeze. The other type of mask is the N95 respirator which is specifically designed to keep foreign germs out as well as to protect you from breathing in the flu virus. The masks are not 100% guaranteed partly because their effectiveness varies greatly depending on the actual fit of the mask over the face and N95 masks can only filter out 95% of the particles.

As far as a vaccine goes, according to the CDC there has not been one created yet, but they have identified the virus so the process to manufacture a vaccine could be possible. In regards to a regular flu shot, this has not been shown or proven to defend against the Swine Flu.