According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of April 26 there are 20 documented cases of swine influenza in the US. Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs that can sometimes infect humans, who can then transmit it to other humans. The current strain of virus that is circulating among humans is the H1N1 strain. The latest laboratory testing shows that this strain is susceptible to the prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir. The CDC has released guidelines on the use of these drugs, as well as how to take care of someone who is sick with the flu, available here. Also, see an interactive map of the locations of the outbreak.
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Tags: CDC, flu, infection, oseltamivir, pig, Swine influenza, zanamivir
Dr. Steven Chang, the author of DailyDose, is a staff physician with Kosmix RightHealth. Dr. Chang practices Family Medicine at the University of California Davis Medical Center, where his medical interests include both pediatric and geriatric care, public health, gay and lesbian health, and sleep medicine. Dr. Chang trained at the Stanford University affiliated O'Connor Hospital, and was a research fellow at the National Institute of Health. He holds an M.D. from McGill University and a BA in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.
April 27th, 2009 at 11:20 am
i can’t find anywhere in these articles a description of the symptooms of swine flu. After awhile it’s hard to keep all the desdly flus straight.
what are the symptoms.
April 27th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
I just got back from mexico this past friday should I be worried, go to the doctor,not go to work or just wait to see if anythings going to happen?