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(HealthNewsDigest.com) – The 2009 Swine flu virus was first recognized in Mexico this year. It is a new virus: a new combination of four known strains of influenza A virus: one widely found in humans, two in pigs and one in birds. It is easily transmitted from human to human. Because it is so contagious, and because millions of people fly daily, the flu has been widely disseminated and reported in most nations around the world – fitting the definition of a ‘pandemic’.
Despite its prevalence, Swine Flu is quite mild for most people. For young children and pregnant women, however, the seriousness of the disease and the number of deaths have raised great concern, making the production and dispensing of an effective vaccine a high priority.
Influenza is spread by coughing or sneezing aerosolized droplets containing the virus. It’s difficult to avoid exposure to people ill with H1N1 – especially because they’re contagious a day before they realize they’re ill and the droplets can spread as far as six feet with an uncovered cough or sneeze. Even if an ill person covers the cough or sneeze with his hand, he can transfer the virus to a surface (such as a door knob or banister), which in turn can transfer it to a healthy person touching that same surface. When the un-infected person rubs his eyes or nose or eats with that contaminated hand, he can contract the disease. The best ways to avoid contracting the flu are to:
Get the 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine
Avoid obviously ill persons when possible
Keep your hands off your face (a difficult task for most of us) and wash your hands (with soap and water or hand sanitizer containing at least 60% ethyl alcohol) for at least 20 seconds before handling food or before touching any part of your face
If you’re ill with a flu-like illness, STAY HOME! And until you get there, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow or into a tissue immediately thrown away. H1N1 viral infections rarely need treatment, but call your doctor immediately if…
You’re pregnant or have a serious underlying medical condition
You have the flu, are beginning to recover but then relapse with worsening symptoms
You have difficulty breathing
You have difficulty waking up
You have trouble in taking fluids and keeping adequately hydrated.
There are two types of Swine Flu vaccine:
A live-attenuated vaccine delivered nasally and recommended for healthy, non-pregnant persons from 2 through 49 years of age and an inactivated, injectable form given to all others over 6 months of age.
People with serious allergies to eggs or gelatin, or those with a history of Guillain Barre should consult with their doctors before getting the vaccine.
The 2009 H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine is being shipped to distribution centers as soon as it is produced. Because not all the vaccine will be available at the same time, recipients will be prioritized, starting with the following higher risk groups:
Healthcare workers with direct patient contact
Pregnant women
Persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years
People with chronic underlying diseases such as asthma and other lung conditions, diabetes, heart disease, and those with deficient immune systems.
It is remarkable that, although the media are spreading fear about Swine Flu, many Americans – especially parents – are expressing more fear of the vaccines than the illness. This is despite the fact that it is their own children who are at most risk of life-threatening disease because of their inherent lack of immunity and their clustering in schools and pre-school programs. These fears are totally unfounded, because:
The vaccines are produced in exactly the same manner, with exactly the same close scrutiny of production facilities and exactly the same international monitoring system for any evidence of untoward effects as the seasonal flu vaccines safely distributed for decades
The ingredients feared by these people – adjuvants (chemicals to enhance the immune response) and thimerisol (used as a preservative in mult-dose vials) – are not contained in either the nasally-delivered vaccine nor in single-dose vials of the injectable vaccine. No scientific studies have confirmed the fears that thimerisol – which is contained in the multi-dose vials – causes autism or any other disease. Nevertheless, to dispel these fears, thimerisol-free single-dose vial vaccine is being given to pregnant women.
The H1N1 Swine Flu vaccine will not protect you from seasonal flu, so it is important to get both types of vaccine as soon as possible. They can be given at the same time. An exception is that the nasal forms of both vaccines should be given 4 weeks apart.
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