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Entry bubble Swine Flu

By: Joanne | April 28, 2009 | Category: Health

Just when I thought that cold and flu season was over, here it is, swine flu. I’m sure that by now you’ve heard news reports of the outbreak of swine flu, first in Mexico, now there are reported cases in the United States and in other countries as well.

According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the swine flu  is a respiratory disease that is commonly found in pigs. Sometimes humans pick it up, and sometimes it can be transferred from person to person.

What should you do?

In the immortal words of Douglas Adams, don’t panic.

Stay informed. Know if there has been a swine flu outbreak where you live or where you’re planning to travel. The CDC is investigating and tracking the reported cases of swine flu. Also listen to reports and guidance from your state and local health agencies.

Wash your hands! I sound more and more like my mother, but she’s right, keeping your hands clean is an important step to reducing the spread of disease. Follow regular disease prevention steps like covering your coughs and sneezes, staying home when you’re sick, and practicing good health habits.

If you live in an area with an outbreak and you get sick with fever and respiratory symptoms, such as cough and runny nose, and possibly other symptoms, such as body aches, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, the CDC recommends you contact your health care provider.

| View Comments [9] | envelope E-mail This Entry | Tags: epidemic   flu   influenza   joanne   pandemic   swine  

Comments (9):

blue comment bubble Posted by Melissa on April 28, 2009 at 05:48 PM EDT

I keep hearing "pandemic" flu. I know an epidemic spreads fast, and according to my dictionary a pandemic flu spreads across many countries. Is there any further clarification from a health specialist on these terms? Can a flu be both pandemic and epidemic?

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blue comment bubble Posted by MTstone on April 29, 2009 at 01:40 AM EDT

The U.S. Government is showing little concern over this growing illness. Where are some regulations on control of the outbreak. ONCE again the government is putting more American Citizens in danger for not taking needed action on the boarder. COME ON JANET, put some more of our American dollars to good use. Close the boarders until the illness is under control. Don't allow anyone from Mexico to come across our BOARDERS. It sounds harsh, but show some concern. Have more of our government doctors out checking the illegal alliens to make sure that there not a host to the disease. The list of actions that can be done go on and on..

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blue comment bubble Posted by Sumsanity on April 29, 2009 at 11:55 AM EDT

36,000 US citizens died from the flu last year, yet there were no cries of 'crisis' or 'pandemic'. So far 1 confirmed death and a few cases in the US. The news media tries to frighten us with maps showing the entire North American continent as 'affected' from Barrow, Alaska to the border of Panama and Columbia. This whole thing has been blown out of proportion by a government that preys on the fears of the ignorant public. They want to keep us afraid and dependent on the new nanny state government. I am immune to the Stimulus flu. I still have visqueen and duct tape on the windows from the last anthrax scare tactic. Also I am covered in Obama stickers because he will save me. What a croc of dung, courtesy of the federal government as usual.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on April 30, 2009 at 09:38 AM EDT

I really like the first two comments because they so clearly demonstrate ideological diversity in the US. One says the government is whipping everyone into a frenzy unnecessarily and the other says the government isn't frenzied enough. I don't see this as a political issue - it's a virus.

It's true that thousands of people die from the regular old flu every year. It's also true that the government launches extensive education and vaccination programs each flu season to help prevent unnecessary illness and death.

This is an unusual event. We're at the end of the regular flu season and there's a nasty flu virus going around. You should be informed about the situation, and you should take appropriate measures to take care of yourself and your family.

In my personal opinion I'm not seeing the government getting frenzied, but I do think many of the hosts of TV and radio programs are.

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blue comment bubble Posted by Joanne on April 30, 2009 at 09:47 AM EDT

I'm no health specialist, beyond my honorary degree as Dr. Mom, but I checked out the glossary at pandemicflu.gov (brought to us by the Department of Health and Human Services).

Here are their definitions:

epidemic: A disease occurring suddenly in humans in a community, region or country in numbers clearly in excess of normal.

pandemic: The worldwide outbreak of a disease in humans in numbers clearly in excess of normal.

It sounds to me like you can't have an pandemic without and epidemic(s) first. If you want to talk to a health professional about it, I recommend contacting the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) at:

800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636)
888-232-6348 (TTY)
cdcinfo@cdc.gov

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blue comment bubble Posted by TT on May 01, 2009 at 02:22 AM EDT

Now that the epidemic is across the US borders; the govement says that it's futile to close the borders.
Once again; they are a day late and a dollar short. The border to the south is so open that closing the main entry/exit points would have just shed light on how inept the whole border security issue is anyway.
The CDC stated that there will be 'deaths' in the USA from this virus. The govement is more concerned with international relations with Mexico than it's own citizens. Shameful at best and I hope it serves as a wake up call that the goverment does not care about the citizens.
I wonder how the parents of that infant that died feel about the lack of concern from the public health sector.
Are people being screened for flu symptoms and given masks at all international points of entry into the USA? In other countries they are; and why is that?
The media is loving this latest disaster; to keep people scared and glued in front of the TV.

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blue comment bubble Posted by LindsayB on May 01, 2009 at 12:50 PM EDT

Closing the borders and handing out masks is not an answer to handling the swine flu. Most people bringing the flu into the country are American citizens who are returning from vacations, which is why we are seeing it pop up all over the country. Can we possibly stop every flight entering the country in every airport and detain our own citizens over a bad flu?

It is a flu, which we have variations of every year. Only one person has died, which is fewer than with a regular flu outbreak. Proper medical attention and normal flu precautions is all that is necessary. That and maybe the media to relate these precautions instead of sensationalizing every new case.

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blue comment bubble Posted by dcrider on May 04, 2009 at 11:35 AM EDT

Do you really think the most effective prevention action of swine flu is to close the boarder? American needs to be serious about personal hygiene. According to World Health Organization (WHO), wash hands with soap and water is an easy and effective way to prevent swine flu. Start doing it today from yourself, please.

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blue comment bubble Posted by COMMUNICATION WORLD on May 04, 2009 at 01:12 PM EDT

[Trackback] It’s not just flu season. It’s social media monitoring season.
I work in an organization that has happened to have done some of the earliest pandemic flu exercises –the last two were held in Feb this year. I won’t go into the de...

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