Table of Contents
What is an Influenza Pandemic?
How should I prepare?
How can I protect myself?
What travel precautions are being taken?
Where can I learn more?
Glossary
About Influenza
Influenza (the “flu”) is a seasonal respiratory illness caused by flu viruses. The viruses can cause mild to severe illness sometimes resulting in death. It is important to note that the flu [...]

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza that regularly cause outbreaks of influenza among pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates among pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate in swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks among swine herds occur during [...]

Influenza A H1N1 viruses appeared simultaneously in humans and pigs in 1918 and have been circulating since then with an intermittent period in humans from 1957 to 1977 (Raymond et al., 1986; Xu et al., 1993). When influenza viruses were first isolated from pigs in 1930 and from humans in 1933, separate swine and human [...]

H3N3 and H1N1 influenza A viruses were isolated from Canadian pigs in 2001 and 2002. These viruses are phylogenetically related to waterfowl viruses and antigenically distinct from reference swine influenza viruses. The isolation of these viruses reemphasizes the potential for interspecies transmission of influenza viruses from waterfowl to pigs in North America.
Influenza A virus infections [...]

Swine Influenza or swine flu is a contagious respiratory disease of pigs, caused by a type A influenza virus. Type A influenza viruses can affect a range of other animals and humans. Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change or mutate constantly. Over the years, different variants of swine flu viruses have emerged, and [...]

The 1918 influenza pandemic has shaped research and public health for nearly a century. In 1976, the specter of 1918 loomed large when a pandemic threatened the country again. Public health officials initiated a mass vaccination campaign, but the anticipated pandemic failed to occur. An examination of the available data in 1976 and the decision [...]

The bizarre case started on 24 October when Sang Heui Seo, a researcher at Chungnam National University in Daejeon, deposited in GenBank partial RNA sequences from a series of viruses isolated from pigs. Niman, a molecular biologist and former Harvard surgery instructor with an intense interest in virus evolution, discovered them soon after they were [...]

According to the World Health Organization, H1N1 Influenza refers to a large group of different influenza viruses that primarily affect pigs. On rare occasions, these H1N1 viruses can infect other species, including humans. The vast majority of H1N1 influenza viruses do not infect humans. An influenza pandemic happens when a new subtype emerges that has [...]

One of the first signs of trouble was a barking cough that resounded through a North Carolina farm in August 1998. Every pig in an operation of 2400 animals sickened, with symptoms similar to those caused by the human flu: high fever, poor appetite, and lethargy. Pregnant sows were hit hardest, and almost 10% aborted [...]

What is Swine Influenza? Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans.
Can humans catch swine flu? Swine flu viruses do not [...]

What is swine influenza?
Swine flu is a respiratory infection caused by influenza viruses that regularly cause outbreaks in pigs. There have been reports of serious illness and deaths due to swine flu in Mexico, but the recently confirmed cases in the United States have been mild.
What are the symptoms of swine influenza?
Swine flu symptoms appear [...]

Collection of specimens for pandemic influenza is slightly different from the usual collection procedures for seasonal influenza. Nasal washings are not an FDA approved specimen source for the pandemic influenza assay released by the CDC on May 1, 2009. Hopefully, this situation will change soon. We understand that many providers use nasal wash as a [...]