BASIC PRECATUIONS to Keep Away SWINE FLU

Swine flu in India is spreading like wildfire, taking the toll to ten. Officials say there are currently more than 1000 cases of the H1N1 flu strain in India. Governments from all around the world are finding ways to combat this deadly disease. So what can you do to protect yourself? Stay calm and practice these 10 effective prevention tips.
1. Wash your hands frequently
Use the antibacterial soaps to cleanse your hands. Wash them often, at least 15 seconds and rinse with running water.
2. Get enough sleep
Try to get 8 hours of good sleep every night to keep your immune system in top flu-fighting shape..
3. Keep hydrated
Drink 8 to10 glasses of water each day to flush toxins from your system and maintain good moisture and mucous production in your sinuses.
4. Boost your immune system
Keeping your body strong, nourished, and ready to fight infection is important in flu prevention. So stick with whole grains, colorful vegetables, and vitamin-rich fruits.
5. Keep informed
The government is taking necessary steps to prevent the pandemic and periodically release guidelines to keep the pandemic away. Please make sure to keep up to date on the information and act in a calm manner.
6. Avoid alcohol
Apart from being a mood depressant, alcohol is an immune suppressant that can actually decrease your resistance to viral infections like swine flu. So stay away from alcoholic drinks so that your immune system may be strong.
7. Be physically active
Moderate exercise can support the immune system by increasing circulation and oxygenating the body. For example brisk walking for 30-40 minutes 3-4 times a week will significantly perk up your immunity.
8. Keep away from sick people

Flu virus spreads when particles dispersed into the air through a cough or sneeze reach someone else’s nose. So if you have to be around someone who is sick, try to stay a few feet away from them and especially, avoid physical contact.
9. Know when to get help
Consult your doctor if you have a cough and fever and follow their instructions, including taking medicine as prescribed.
10. Avoid crowded areas
Try to avoid unnecessary trips outside. Moreover, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

SWINE FLU

The World Health Organization has recently raised the level of Swine Flu to the little known and used ‘Mega Pandemic’ level. This is the fifth time in a month that the World Health organization has raised the warning level for Swine Flu, or H1N1 as it’s now referred to as. Earlier this month, the Swine flu has gone through multiple classification changes, going from ‘Pre Pandemic’, ‘Demi Pandemic’ to ‘Pretty Much a Pandemic’ to ‘Pandemic Pandemic’ and now ‘Mega Pandemic’. “It’s important that we keep the public up-to-date about the Swine Flu,” Said World Health Organization spokesperson Craig Samuelson, “Plus it’s pretty good publicity for us. People pay attention when they hear the word ‘Pandemic’. For example, in one press release, we mentioned the word ‘Pandemic’ over 50 times. We think that with all the hard work we do, we deserve a little bit more government cheese, and you do that by making people care about you.”

The World Health Organization has been wildly successful with their Swine Flu campaign, capturing tons of worldwide headlines by renaming the disease, classifying it with many different frightening warnings and even creating a new H1N1 mascot called “Oinker” to help integrate themselves into the children’s market. “What they’ve done is absolutely brilliant.” Said Marketing Analyst Suzanne Prichard, “They’ve re-vamped their organization from a boring, sterile group of scientists into a hip, headline-capturing marketing force. People are scared stiff about this Swine Flu thing, and they’ve used that to their full advantage. Nobody is asking ‘who are WHO?’ anymore, or ‘what is WHO?’, but now the questions are more like ‘Why is WHO doing this?’. They’ve really broken into the 5-W market. That’s what we in marketing like to call the ‘money cow’ or in this case, the ‘money pig’!” She said before laughing uncontrolably and stomping her feet against the ground.

Citizens have been less enthusiastic, especially in the Hypochondriac community. Steven Malkakis has been a hypochondriac his entire life, and he believes he is suffering from a wide assortment of assorted maladies on a daily basis. We interviewed him over the phone. “It’s fucking bullshit. I’ve been afraid to leave my house for weeks. I’ve taken 5 Xanaxes today and I’m still afraid to do anything other than lie in bed and look at tenticle porn on the internet. I’m just dreading the day they update the level to ‘I am Legend Pandemic’. I think I’d just kill myself if that happened; that was a really stupid movie.”

The WHO is working on new methods of prolonging their newfound stardom. “Listen, we know that this Swine Flu thing isn’t going to last forever.” Samuelson beamed, “So we’ve undertaken new steps on how to find the next up-and-coming disease to promote. The bird flu was a big flop for us, and SARS was a flash in the pan. Identifying a real winner is hard, but we’re working on it. We’ve found some sexy stuff recently, in the Amazon we found a type of herpes you can get from an iguana, and in Chile there’s an intestinal worm that spreads through sneezing. Now that we’ve got the marketing side figured out, I think these guys could be big news in only a matter of years!”

WHAT IS SWINE INFLUENZA (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 do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu viruses has been documented. See General Information about Swine Flu.

From December 2005 through February 2009, a total of 12 human infections with swine influenza were reported from 10 states in the United States. Since March 2009, a number of confirmed human cases of a new strain of swine influenza A (H1N1) virus infection in California, Texas, and Mexico have been identified. An investigation into these cases is ongoing. For more information see Human Swine Flu Investigation.

Is the current swine flu virus contagious?

•Various international agencies (US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, World Health Organization) have determined that this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is contagious and is spreading from human to human.
•WHO has escalated the world Pandemic Phase from Phase 3 to Phase 4 (in a 6-scale Phase), indicating that a worldwide pandemic due to swine flu H1N1 is possible.

What are the signs and symptoms of swine flu in people?

•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.
•Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. In the past, severe illness (pneumonia and respiratory failure) and deaths have been reported with swine flu infection in people.
•Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions.

How does swine flu spread?

•Spread of this swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is thought to be happening in the same way that seasonal flu spreads.
•Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza.
•Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with live flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

How are human infections with swine influenza diagnosed?

•To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus).
•However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer.
•Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to a hospital laboratory for testing.

How can someone with the flu infect someone else?

•Infected people may be able to infect others beginning 1 day before symptoms develop and up to 7 or more days after becoming sick.
•That means that you may be able to pass on the flu to someone else before you know you are sick, as well as while you are sick.

How long can an infected person spread swine flu to others?

•People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset.
•Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods.

Is there a vaccine for Pandemic Flu?

•Because the virus is new, there will be no vaccine ready to protect against pandemic flu.
•Vaccine against Swine Flu virus H1N1 needs at least 6-12 months to be produced.
•Seasonal flu vaccine or past flu immunization will not provide protection.