What is it about swine flu?

H1N1or swine flu is a disease of the respiratory of pigs which are brought about by the A Influenza viruses that cause an outbreak in pigs regularly. In most instances, people don’t get swine flu but there are times when human infections happen. These viruses have been known to spread from one person to the next but in the past few years, the transmission has been contained.
Can the swine flu be a pandemic?
A pandemic is when a flu virus which is new spreads easily and quickly all over the world. It becomes hard to fight the new type of virus because there is not enough resistance to it. Because there is nobody immune to it, everyone becomes at risk of being infected and suffering death or serious illness. The H1N1 waves do happen from time to time with different severity degrees. When a virus is a pandemic, it can take years or months to be contained.
What is the difference between swine flu and the seasonal flu?
The seasonal flu happens to spread from one person to the next and it a sickness that is common mostly in winter causing sore throat, fever, muscle pain, runny nose, and coughing. The people who are most at risk are children, the elderly and those with underlying health problems which weakens the immune system.
The seasonal flu can easily be prevented through a vaccine that you can get yearly. Some people can fight the common cold easily without the use of medication after building a strong immune system. Some medications are available to treat seasonal flu.
With the swine flu, it is a new type of flu and thus, no one has immune to it. Even if you have been given a flu vaccine, it will not give you protection against the swine flu. Everyone is at risk of getting it whether you have an underlying health issue or you are healthy. There is is a vaccine for the same which can be taken every year though some countries claim it can take up to 10 years to be inactive.
What are the symptoms of H1N1?
The indication of the Swine flu are very same to the ones for the other common flu and including fever, coughing, having a sore throat, a running nose, severe headaches, body aches, fatigue, and chills. Symptoms can at times include diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. Those found with the flu have at least two or more of the aforementioned symptoms. Just like the normal flu, swine flu might cause a worsening of any underlying medical condition.
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