Swine Flu is not transmitted through pork products
A virus, from the Latin word virus meaning toxin or poison, is a sub-microscopic infectious entity that requires a host cell to grow or reproduce. Viruses are approximately 1/100th the size of bacteria. The origins of viruses are unclear. They may have evolved from bacteria or from actual pieces of DNA that can move between cells known as plasmids.
Swine influenza, also referred to as swine flu, hog flu and pig flu, refers to influenza caused by strains of influenza virus called swine influenza virus (SIV) that usually infect pigs. It is common in pigs in the Midwestern United States and many other countries throughout the world.
Transmission of swine influenza from pigs to humans is not common. When humans are infected, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People who work with pigs, especially those with persistent intense exposure, are at risk of catching swine flu. Rarely, these strains of swine flu pass from human to human. Symptoms consist of chills, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, headache and coughing.
The 2009 flu outbreak in humans, known as “swine flu”, is due to a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 (classification) that contains genes most closely related to swine influenza. The origin of this new strain is unknown. The World Organization for Animal Health reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs. It can be transmitted from human to human resulting in normal symptoms of influenza.
Three types of influenza virus that cause human flu are types A, B and C; two also cause influenza in pigs. Influenza A is common in pigs, while influenza C is rare. Influenza B has not been reported in pigs. Within influenza virus A and C, the strains found in pigs and humans are distinct, although due to the viruses’ ability to alter their genes, there have been transfers of genes among strains crossing swine, avian and human species boundaries.
Swine influenza was thought to be a disease related to human influenza during the 1918 flu pandemic when pigs became sick at the same time as humans. Prior to 1997, strains were exclusively H1N1 but after 2002, new strains emerged as causes of influenza among pigs in North America. The H1N1 swine flu is one of the descendants of the flu that caused the 1918 flu pandemic. Direct transmission from pigs to humans is rare with only 12 cases in the U.S. since 2005.
Transmission to humans usually involves people who work with pigs. These individuals constitute a population of human hosts in which changes can occur which allows the virus to then be transmitted from human to human. Direct transmission of a swine flu virus from pigs to humans is occasionally possible. Fifty cases are known to have occurred since the first report in medical literature in 1958 which have resulted in six deaths.
The 2009 “swine flu” H1N1 virus causes symptoms similar to those of influenza and influenza-like illnesses in general. The recent outbreak has also shown an increased percentage of patients reporting diarrhea and vomiting. The 2009 H1N1 virus is not one that was transmitted from pigs to humans but from person to person.
Influenza spreads between humans through coughing or sneezing and people touching something with the virus on it and then touching their own nose or mouth. Swine flu is not transmitted through pork products.
Prevention includes frequent hand washing. Vaccines against this new strain are being developed and could be ready as early as June 2009.
Social distancing or staying away from other people who might be infected is another tactic.
In humans, the treatment may consist of antiviral drugs which can make the illness milder and allow the patient to feel better. They may also prevent serious flu complications. The majority of infected people make a full recovery without requiring medical attention or antiviral drugs.
Dr. Joseph Andris, D.O., is a board certified anesthesiologist. For the past nine years, he has been practicing in the San Francisco Bay Area. He serves as director of the OR as well as assistant chief of anesthesia at Kaiser Permanente's San Rafael campus. Dr. Andris attended Villanova University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. He completed residencies in both internal medicine and anesthesiology at West Virginia University, where he also taught as an assistant professor while practicing medicine. Send your questions to Joe@smartnow.com.
