Flu Guide

Recently, Swine flu fears have been raised by the US government’s CDC and the World Health Organization, but it is not a new strain of the flu nor a new strain of the swine flu virus.  Swine flu has been reported numerous times in the past as a zoonosis in humans.  While this is a virus that concerns health organizations, it usually has occurred with limited distribution and rarely with a widespread or “pandemic” distribution.

It is important to note that, at this time, there is no evidence that Swine flu can be spread by eating pork products, since the virus is not transmitted through food.  Swine flu is a respiratory illness in pigs and is caused by infection with swine influenza.  While this virus A(H1N1) can occasionally affect humans,  swine flu has been in the world before.  “Swine” flu is a name given to a number of influenza viruses that pigs can become infected with.

The last known outbreak amongst humans of “swine flu” in recent history, occurred at Fort Dix, N.J. in 1976.  At that time, over 200 people became infected with the disease.  However, only 13 were hospitalized and one person eventually died. As such, this occurance did not cause a world wide concern and the outbreak did not spread beyond the area.

In the 1976 outbreak, the Federal Government’s actions, and those taken by public health agencies both here and around the world, resulted in a swift handling of the outbreak.  An effective vaccine was swiftly developed and quickly placed into the hands of local doctors and clinics. Sadly, thousands of people developed serious side effects to this vaccine.  In this case the cure was worse than the illness, and the use of that vaccine has been discontinued.

At this time there appears to be a fairly small outbreak of swine flu in California and Texas. This particular virus has been given the designation of H1N1, the same designation as the Spanish flu, but its genetic characteristics are primarily from the swine version of the virus and not the human one.

As opposed to the 1976 outbreak, none of the current patients appear to have had any contact with pigs. The family relationships among several of the patients strongly suggests that this strain is the result of human to human transmission of this particular strain of the disease.

Fortunately, the current strain of the virus has shown in testing that it is not resistant to the anti-viral drugs oseltamivir and zanamavir.  As such, it is best to use normal well known precautions as suggested by health care providers. Patients feeling ill are urged to stay home from work or school and follow standard influenza care recommendations.