On Sunday, U.S. officials called the swift outbreak of the swine flu to be a public health emergency. In response, 12.5 million doses of the antiviral medications Tamiflu and Relenza have been released to help in the battle to fight the disease. An additional 7 million courses of Tamiflu is being made by the Defense Department. Although both Tamiflu and Relenza help lessen the intensity of flu symptoms, but it is still not clear if the medications will work on the swine flu.
State and local authorities, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the international health community have increased public awareness, testing and surveillance in an attempt to try to terminate the disease before it becomes a global epidemic.
The outbreak developed in Mexico where more than 100 people have died and more than 1,500 have become sick in recent weeks. In the capital and the states of Mexico and San Luis Potosi, schools have been canceled until May 6. Tons of public events such as concerts and sports events have been halted to keep the virus from spreading in large crowds. Also, zoos were closed and visits to juvenile correction centers were postponed.
The majority of people who died reached out for medical help when it was too late, and the disease became too advanced. Once Sunday rolled around, thousands of Mexicans were bolting to hospitals, although some had just a fever.
It is unsettling that The World Health Organization claims that this new flu strain has “pandemic potential.” A flu pandemic happens when a new influenza virus manifests, people have scarce or no immunity to it, and there’s no vaccine.
Thankfully, there have been no deaths reported yet in the United States, but it was confirmed Sunday that eight students from a New York City high school have tested positive for the disease. Some of these students recently went to Cancun, Mexico. There school has closed as a safety measure. Other cases have been confirmed in California, Kansas, Texas and Ohio.
Janet Napolitano, the Homeland Security Secretary, is leading the federal endeavor to handle the outbreak. Many other departments such as the Health and Human Services and Agriculture are also engaged.
The virus in the U.S. seems to be the same strain as the one in Mexico, but health officials are puzzled as to why the U.S. outbreaks have not been as serious. So far, all the victims in the U.S. have recuperated and only one was hospitalized. Unfortunately, that may change because infectious diseases, especially the flu virus, are unpredictable.
So what exactly is the swine flu? It is a respiratory disease of pigs that is usually common among people who have close contact with pigs. It can spread from person to person because it is so contagious. Swine flu has the same symptoms as the human flu such as fever, cough, sore throat, headache, chills and fatigue.
All citizens are urged to help stop the spread of this dreaded disease. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services urges anyone with flu symptoms who has recently traveled to Mexico or one of the five U.S. states with confirmed cases, to contact your doctor or a health-care provider right away. Also, if you have flu symptoms, stay home from work or school to prevent the disease from spreading. Do not go back until two days after your symptoms are gone. Of course, always cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing and wash your hands often throughout the day! Important to mention is that the disease can not be contracted by eating pork.
Government health officials warn that a dominant flu medicine called Tamiflu might not take care of all flu cases this year. Currently, the most common flu sickness is extremely resistant to Tamiflu.