25-08-2017, 09:32 PM
What is swine flu (influenza A H1N1)?
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Flu is an illness caused by an infection of the influenza virus. The flu virus constantly changes and there are many different strains of flu. Find out the differences between swine flu, pandemic flu, and ordinary flu.
What is an epidemic and a pandemic?
An epidemic is a sudden outbreak of disease that spreads through a single population or region in a short amount of time.
A pandemic occurs when there is a rapidly-spreading epidemic of a disease that affects most countries and regions of the world.
Who is at risk?
Swine flu is a new virus so no-one will have immunity to it and everyone could be at risk of catching it. This includes healthy adults as well as older people and children.
What is pandemic flu?
Pandemic flu occurs when an influenza virus emerges that is so different from previously circulating strains that few, if any, people have any immunity to it. This allows it to spread widely and rapidly, causing serious illness.
Ordinary flu and pandemic flu – the differences
The differences between ordinary flu and pandemic flu include:
Ordinary flu
occurs every year during the winter
affects 10 to 15 per cent of the UK popuation
most people recover within 1 or 2 weeks without medical treatment
can be identified in advance and a vaccine can be made (this immunisation is known as the flu jab and helps protect people from ordinary flu)
Pandemic flu
occurs during any season
affects more people than ordinary flu (up to half the population)
is a more serious infection
people of all ages may be at risk of infection
a vaccine cannot be made because the virus strain has not been identifed
antiviral medicine is stockpiled to treat people
What is swine flu?
Swine influenza is a disease in pigs. The virus currently transmitting among people is now generally referred to as swine flu, although the origin of the disease is still under investigation. There is no evidence of this strain of the disease circulating in pigs in the UK.
There are regular outbreaks of swine influenza in pigs worldwide. It does not normally infect humans, although this occasionally does occur - usually in people who have had close contact with pigs.
Swine influenza viruses are usually of the H1N1 subtype. The swine flu that has spread to humans is a version of this virus.
How is swine flu infection diagnosed?
Swine flu infection is confirmed when the person has a positive swab test result, after being assessed by their GP. But the NHS is now moving away from the laboratory confirmation of all cases to clinical diagnosis of some cases. This means that people who have been in close contact with a confirmed case and who have flu-like symptoms may be clinically diagnosed as having swine flu without the need for a swab test.