H1N1 | H1n1 And Its Impact On World Community

Wednesday, April 14th, 2010

Roots of H1N1

H1N1influenza or Swine flu is a respiratory disease caused by viruses and it produces most of the same symptoms in pigs as human flu produces in people. This pandemic flu, -unlike other pandemic flues such as avail flu and Tami flu-can last about one to two weeks in pigs that survive. The H1N1 virus was first isolated from pigs in 1930 in the U.S. In a number of instances, people have contracted the swine flu infection when they are closely associated with pigs.

Types of pandemic flu virus

Type A viruses can cause severe illness and are the only type to have caused human pandemics. Type B strains cause sporadic human cases and small-scale outbreaks. Type C strains only rarely cause human infection and have not caused large outbreaks. Of the influenza A viruses, only subtypes H1, H2 and H3 have been transmitted easily between humans.

Symptoms

Symptoms of H1N1 are similar to most pandemic flu infections: fever, cough, nasal secretions, fatigue, and headache are seen in most infected individuals. Some patients develop severe respiratory symptoms and need respiratory support. Patients can get pneumonia if the viral infection persists, and some can develop seizures. Death often occurs from secondary bacterial infection of the lungs. The usual mortality rate for typical influenza A is about 0.1%, while the 1918 Spanish flu epidemic had an estimated mortality rate ranging from 2%-20%. By June 2009, the virus had spread to around 74 countries.

Effective treatment

Two antiviral drugs have been found helpful in preventing the pandemic flu. They are zanamivir and oseltamivir. However, these drugs should not be used indiscriminately. Also, they are not recommended if the flu symptoms already have been present for 48 hours or more, although hospitalized patients may still be treated past the 48-hour guideline. Severe infections in some patients may require additional supportive measures such as ventilation support and treatment of other infections like pneumonia that can occur in patients with a severe flu infection.

Impact of Vaccination

Prevention by vaccination is the best method of preventing this pandemic flu. The first vaccine was released in early October 2009. It is approved for use in healthy individuals ages 2 through 49. This vaccine consists of a live attenuated H1N1 virus and should not be used in anyone who is pregnant or immune compromised. The injectable vaccine, made from killed H1N1, was introduced later for use in ages 6 months to the elderly, including pregnant females. Both of these vaccines have been approved by the CDC. The basic thing to recover from this pandemic flue is necessary rest and timely medication.

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