Swine flu is the common name of the influenza A(H1N1).
People are now getteing infected with this disease from human-to-human transmission. When infected people cough or sneeze, infected droplets get on their hands, drop onto surfaces, or are dispersed into the air. Another person can breathe in contaminated air, or touch infected hands or surfaces, and be exposed.
Signs and symptoms of infection
Early signs of influenza A(H1N1) are flu-like, including fever, cough, headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and runny nose, and sometimes vomiting or diarrhoea.
An influenza pandemic
An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity, resulting in epidemics worldwide with enormous numbers of deaths and illness. With the increase in global transport, as well as urbanization and overcrowded conditions, epidemics due the new influenza virus are likely to quickly take hold around the world.
Outbreaks of influenza in animals, especially when happening simultaneously with annual outbreaks of seasonal influenza in humans, increase the chances of a pandemic, through the merging of animal and human influenza viruses. During the last few years, the world has faced several threats with pandemic potential, making the occurrence of the next pandemic a matter of time.
Consequences of an influenza pandemic
In the past, influenza pandemics have resulted in increased morbidity and mortality and great social disruption. In the 20th century, the most severe influenza pandemic occurred in 1918 -1919 and caused an estimated 40–50 million deaths world wide. Current epidemiological models project that a pandemic could result in 2 to 7.4 million deaths globally.
If an influenza pandemic were to occur today, we could expect:
- the pandemic virus to spread rapidly due to the high level of global traffic;
- vaccines, antiviral agents and antibiotics to treat secondary infections to be in short supply, with a period of several months before any vaccine becomes available;
- medical facilities to be overwhelmed with demands to care for both influenza and non-influenza patients;
- widespread illness to result in sudden and potentially significant shortages of personnel to provide essential community services.