What is “Swine” flu? Swine Influenza (swine fl u) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine fl u viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the [...]

Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses and has a major economic impact on the swine industry in the United States. Flu outbreaks in pigs are common, especially during winter months. Swine flu can result in high rates of illness in herds.
High fevers in infected pigs are common, [...]

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, and, in some cases people have reported diarrhea and nausea. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.
Swine influenza (swine flu) [...]

The National Influenza Immunization Program, the official title for this venture, was unprecedented in intended timing and in scope among American immunization efforts . It aimed at inoculating everyone before becember 1976 against a new flu strain that might conceivably become as big a killer as the flu of 1918, the worst ever . The [...]

A vaccine against the newly emerging strain of H1N1 could stop or slow its spread, and thus reduce its impact on health services, workplaces, schools and the economy. Since this virus differs markedly from previous strains of H1N1, existing flu vaccines will not work against it and a new vaccine needs to be developed.
Several different [...]

Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by bird and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (that is, swap genes) and new viruses can emerge.
That is what has happened with the recent cases of [...]

Outbreaks and sporadic human infection with swine influenza have been occasionally reported. Generally clinical symptoms are similar to seasonal influenza but reported clinical presentation ranges broadly from asymptomatic infection to severe pneumonia resulting in death.
Since typical clinical presentation of swine influenza infection in humans resembles seasonal influenza and other acute upper respiratory tract infections, most [...]

Anyone who has contact with an infected person may be exposed to swine flu. Human transmission is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu: through aerosolized particles that are released when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Here are the best ways to avoid getting or spreading swine influenza:
• Encourage all people to cover [...]

Most genetic changes in the flu viruses human, pig, and bird are small and subtle point mutations in the virus’s RNA. Less common but more alarming are sudden, wholesale changes that replace entire genes and are more likely to circumvent the immune system. This process, called genetic shift, is exactly what is now occurring in [...]

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs but it’s possible [...]