crash course on swine flu

I visited Melbourne, ex-swine flu capital, just last month. My time at the airports served as an amusing glimpse of the fear that has been instilled in the minds of Malaysians. A considerable amount of people at the airport were wearing flu masks. As ridiculous as it was, I was starting to feel anxious because I did not look like a surgeon out of place.

I started passing time between flights by head-counting the number of people in the crowd with masks and those without. It wasn't long before it dawned upon me that the only people who took heed to the all-the-rage masks were the Asians. Yes, Indians are Asians too.

Today, Malaysians mourn the death of their 7th victim. So once and for all, I decided to educate the ignorant like myself on the gist of swine flu:

So while we were all busy with the recession, 5-year old Edgar Hernandez from Mexico unsuspectingly made his debut in history as the first patient recorded with swine flu in early April 2009 [2]. I can't say I'm jealous.

Swine flu went global on 11th June 2009 and the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared it a pandemic [3]. How global, you say?

Yep, pretty much global.

And for those who think "pandemic" is a big word:

"(of a disease) prevalent throughout an entire country, continent, or the whole world; epidemic over a large area [4]."

Note: WHO defines pandemic as not meaning that the virus is any more lethal — only that its spread is considered unstoppable [5].

Swine flu is a contagious brew of avian, human and swine influenza. The virus have antigens on its surface - little parts of the virus that trigger our immune system. As samples from patients have shown consistency in virus antigen structure, the WHO, several European governments and US have proposed the design of a specific vaccine to counter the spread of swine flu two months ago [6]. We are still waiting....

The virus is spread via coughing, sneezing and contaminated surfaces. And if you've done well, you should not have:

• Fever
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Body aches
• Headache
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Diarrhea
  

It cannot be spread by eating pork [7]. So breathe easy now, pork lovers...but remember to wash your hands and use that sick leave generously [5].

If soaping leaves your skin dry and you've run out of sick leave, there are anti-viral vaccines that have been known to treat patients in the early stages of swine flu. So if you're one fond of injections (I know very few of these people, by the way) then rush to your nearest hospital or clinic to get your dose of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) and zanamivir (Relenza) [8].

If you were wondering, I had a sore throat and cold during my stay in Australia - no thanks to the wintry weather. Nonetheless, I had a wonderful holiday because I was not reminded of the outbreak by a single adorned mask on the streets. And for the record, one month after and I am still not dead - yet.

And finally, a snippet from CNN on how the world reacted to swine-flu:

"China and Russia banned pork imports from the US and Mexico.
Japan, Malaysia and Indonesia used thermographic devices to test the temperature of passengers arriving from Mexico.
Argentina announced a five-day ban on flights from Mexico.
US government urged travelers to avoid nonessential travel to Mexico[2]."

And my personal favourite:

"The Philippines' health department urged people to avoid kissing and hugging in public [2]."

Here is a link to a list of resources on swine flu for the geek or layman in you.

Stay healthy and be careful out there!

[1]University of Oxford (2009, June 14). Swine Flu Origins Revealed. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/06/090613063849.htm

[2]CNN (2009, May 1). Earliest case of swine flu tucked away in Mexico, officials say. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/swine.flu/#cnnSTCText

[3]BBC (2009, Jun 11). WHO declares swine flu pandemic. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8094655.stm

[4]pandemic. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 03, 2009, from http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/pandemic

[5]MSN (2009, Jun 11). WHO raises flu pandemic to highest level. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31207627/ns/health-swine_flu/

[6]Economist (2009, May 28). The origin of swine flu: Putting the pieces together. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.economist.com/sciencetechnology/displayStory.cfm?story_id=13726722

[7]CNN (2009, May 1). Earliest case of swine flu tucked away in Mexico, officials say. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/28/swine.flu/#cnnSTCOther1

[8]CNN (2009, April 26). Regular flu season precautions advised in current outbreak. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://edition.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/26/swin.flu.risks/index.html

[9]WHO. Pandemic H1N1 (2009), Countries, territories and areas with lab confirmed cases and number of deaths as reported to WHO. Retrieved August 4, 2009, from http://www.who.int/csr/don/Map_20090727.png