Swine Flu Information | Swine Flue Updates

First Case Of Swine Flu Reported in Indiana

2009-04-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

Health officials have reported the first confirmed case of swine flu in the State of Indiana. The person who contracted the flu is not in a serious condition and I understand that she is under medical care. The case was reported in a northern suburb of Indiana.

Swine flu continues to spread through out the United States and the world and work is currently under way at a rapid pace to develop a vaccine against the raging flu.

Swine Flu Prompts California State Of Emergency

2009-04-28T12:40:00.001-07:00

The recent out-break of swine flu around the world has prompted Californian governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to declare a State Of Emergency this morning.

California, which borders Mexico, the country where the out-break started has already reported 13 confirmed cases of swine flu. There have been no deaths reported yet but there are two deaths under investigation that could possibly be related to the flu and the governor is taking no chances.

USA Confirmed Swine Flu Infected Rises To 68

2009-04-28T10:54:00.000-07:00

The number of infected people in the USA with the swine flu virus has risen to 68. This was recently confirmed by The U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

Here is an excerpt from the Reuters Article:

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control said on Tuesday it had confirmed a total of 64 human cases of swine flu across the country.

The CDC's web site said the new total included 10 cases in California, 2 in Kansas, 45 in New York, one in Ohio and 6 in Texas. It did not include an additional case reported by Indiana state authorities.

Link to full article.

Swine Flu Pandemic - Mild Says WHO

2009-04-28T10:44:00.000-07:00

The World Health Organization said today that the out-break of the Swine Flu Pandemic is likely to only be mild. They did warn however that the great 1918 flu pandemic which killed millions, started out in the same way. They mentioned that they are hopeful for a mild pandemic and that would be the be best possible outcome of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the number of infections around the world are growing as more and more test results are release. The World Health Organization wants to turn its focus to under developed countries which do not have the medical infrastructure to handle such a big out-break.

Do Face Masks Help Prevent Swine Flu?

2009-04-28T10:29:00.000-07:00

I just read a very interesting article about using face masks to prevent swine flu and whether or not they actually work?

The answer to that question is yes, they do work. There is however, a very slight chance that you can still get the flu while wearing a mask.

There are two types of masks:

Surgical mask - These are usually loose fitted masks and are designed to reduce the spreading of droplets and they also protect you from splashes. They do no however protect you from breathing in small particles.
Respirators - These are designed to stop the intake of small particles when breathing. They are a tighter fit and the filter traps the small particles.

You would be better off buying a respirator mask if you are thinking of going down that route to prevent the swine flu virus.

Swine Flu Confirmed In Orlando, Florida

2009-04-28T10:15:00.000-07:00

Doctors have confirmed this morning that they have diagnosed the first case of Swine Flu in Orlando, Florida. The details were release by the CMO(Chief Medical Officer) of the Adventist Health System, Loran Hauck.

There are very few details at the moment and I will post more as soon as they come through.

Swine Flu Confirmed In New York

2009-04-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

A group of New York high school students who holidayed in Mexico have been tested positive for the Swine Flu virus. The 28 people group spent a holiday in Mexico and when they returned they complained about flu like symptoms. Subsequent tests revealed that they indeed had contracted the virus.

Swine flu seems to be spreading around the States with confirmed cases in New Jersey, Texas, California and Kansas.

There is no need to panic though, keep safe and use preventative measures to avoid the flu virus and you should be fine.

Useful Swine Flu Resources

2009-04-28T09:02:00.000-07:00

Below are some useful websites where you will find some great information about the swine flu virus. This list will be updated constantly as I find more links.

Swine Flu on Wikipedia
Swine Flu on Google News (Aggregates news articles)
More Coming Soon!

Swine Flu - Dont Panic!

2009-04-28T08:55:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of scary things being said about the swine flu virus during this 2009 out-break and people are very worried about its implications (rightly so). It definitely is a little scary.

However, The most important thing you can do to prevent the swine flu virus is not to panic! Take the necessary precautions to protect yourself (and your family if you have one) and do not let the media and news make you fear it. If you protect yourself, you should be fine.

Read up on this blog about the virus and follow some of the links we have posted to educate yourself on how to be best prepared to deal with the swine flu virus. Most of all...

Keep Safe!

China Reports Swine Flu Outbreak And Steps Up Measures

2009-04-28T08:45:00.000-07:00

The Chinese are reporting an out-break of swine flu in their country. The latest stats say there is about 174 confirmed or suspected cases of the swine flu virus including 34 deaths and 28 people critical.

Meanwhile, the Chinese government has stepped up measures to contain the flu by flying in swine flu vaccines for 350000 pigs. They are also currently developing vaccines for over 10 millions pigs.

You can read more about the out break of swine flue in China on the China Posts website.

Swine Flu Drug On Its Way!

2009-04-28T08:32:00.000-07:00

GlaxoSmithKline and Roche Holding are said to have stepped up efforts to develop a drug for the fast spreading, swine flu virus. The two companies are reportedly only months away from releasing the drug which will hopefully control the virus and stop it from spreading.

Here is an except from the article on BloomBerg:

GlaxoSmithKline Plc and Roche Holding AG stepped up production of antiviral drugs as concern spread that a swine-flu pandemic may develop, and vaccines to protect against the current strain remained months away.

Glaxo increased output of its flu remedy Relenza during the weekend, the London-based company said. Roche is also making more of its medicine Tamiflu, said Martina Rupp, a spokeswoman for the Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker.

Swine Flu Epidemic - The Stats So Far

2009-04-28T08:01:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of facts and figures floating around about the swine flu epidemic that it has become really difficult to find all the exact numbers. So what I decided was that I would to do a quick round up of the stats from the current 2009 Swine Flu Epidemic.

Here is a list of the current infections in various different countries:

(The figures below are only of the confirmed cases of swine flu)

Mexico - 20 confirmed infections / 7 confirmed deaths (Updated April 27th)
United States - 68 confirmed infections (Updated April 28th)
Canada - 6 confirmed infections (Updated April 27th)
New Zealand - 3 confirmed infections (Updated April 28th)
Spain - 1 confirmed infection (Updated April 27th)

This post will be updated frequently as more stats come in.

Swine Flu Confirmed In New Zealand

2009-04-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Authorities in New Zealand have confirmed several cases of Swine Flu in the country. There are currently 3 confirmed cases and medical experts as monitoring 43.

The swine flu was contracted by a New Zealand school group during a recent trip to Mexico.

You can read more about the speading of the swine flu virus in New Zealand on this article by Reuters.

It seems as if the virus is starting to spread all around the world and more and more countries are bracing themselves for an outbreak.

Stay tuned to this blog for more updates on the swine flu virus.

Swine Flu Found in North Carolina?

2009-04-28T07:11:00.000-07:00

There have been conflicting reports in the news and on the internet that the swine flu virus has been found in North Carolina.

These reports have been nulled by a couple on news sources this morning that confirmed that the virus has not yet been found but test are currently being done on a few patients with swine flu like symptoms.

The reports did mention that it is highly likely that cases will be detected in North Carolina at some point. They also said that they will be able to confirm the results of the tests later this week.

More details on this story will be posted soon.

Is There A Swine Flu Vaccine?

2009-04-28T07:03:00.000-07:00

Currently (as far as I can tell from my research), there is no available human swine flu vaccine. However, researches are currently hard at work on developing a swine flue vaccine.

One of the toughest challenges at the moment is that a normal vaccine usually takes a few months to develop. Scientists are having to work extremely fast to get some sort of vaccine on the market to prevent the swine flu virus.

Most sources that I have found mention that a vaccine is about 4-6 months away. Perhaps even more.

Swine Flu Prevention - How Not To Get Swine Flu

2009-04-28T06:54:00.001-07:00

There are a number of steps that can be taken to prevent the swine flu virus from spreading and also to prevent yourself from contracting it. They are very similar to the normal prevention steps of influenza.

Lets take a look at some of them so that you can be protected from the flu:

Avoid touching your mouth, nose eyes without having washed your hands.
Make sure you cough into a tissue or your hand to avoid the virus spreading. Throw away tissue or wash hands after you have coughed.
Make sure you constantly wash your hands especially after you have been out and about.

And there you have it, some simple yet effective methods for preventing the swine flue virus in your home.

Detect Swine Flu Symptoms

2009-04-28T06:48:00.000-07:00

The symptons of the swine flu virus are very similar to those of influenza. They include the following:

Cough
Chills
Fever
Body Ache
Fever
Sore Throats
Headache
Fatigue

Swine Flue Google Map

2009-04-28T06:41:00.000-07:00

I just found a great Google map which shows you where all cases of the Swine Flu virus have been found. Not only that, it also details whether the threat was confirmed, suspect, negative or resulted in death.

Click here for the google map of the swine flu virus.

Swine Flu in New Jersey?

2009-04-28T06:32:00.000-07:00

I just picked up off Google Trends that there were 5 possible cases of the Swine Flu Virus found in New Jersey!

Luckily the 5 cases are mild forms of the virus and the patients are being treated out of hospital.

Here is part of the story from the Huffington Post:

New Jersey health officials say they've identified five probable cases of swine flu in people who recently traveled to Mexico and California.
The New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services said Monday that all have mild forms of the flu and none has been hospitalized.

You can read more by visiting the full article.

What Is Swine Flu?

2009-04-28T06:25:00.000-07:00

Many people are confused as to what exactly swine flu is, where it originates from and why it spreads so easily. This blog post will explain in detail from the help of wikipedia what exactly the swine flu virus is.

Here is a definition of the swineflu virus from wikipedia.com:

Swine influenza (also swine flu) refers to influenza caused by any virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae, that is endemic to pig (swine) populations. Strains endemic in swine are called swine influenza virus (SIV), and all known strains of SIV are classified as Influenzavirus A (common) or Influenzavirus C (rare).[1] Influenzavirus B has not been reported in swine. All three clades, Influenzavirus A, B, and C, are endemic in humans[clarification needed].

People who work with poultry and swine, especially people with intense exposures, are at risk of infection from these animals if the animals carry a strain that is also able to infect humans. SIV can mutate into a form that allows it to pass from human to human. The strain responsible for the 2009 swine flu outbreak is believed to have undergone this mutation.[2]

In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general.

I hope that clears up what exactly swine flue is and how it can be contracted. There is a lot more detailed information about the virus at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swine_flu

Leave comments or questions if you have any!