Swine influenza (also called swine flu, pigfluenza, hog flu, and pig flu) refers to influenza caused by those strains of influenza virus that usually infect pigs and are called swine influenza virus (SIV).Swine influenza is common in pigs in the midwestern United States, Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe (including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy), Kenya, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and other parts of eastern Asia.
The 2009 Flu outbreak in humans that is widely known as "Swine Flu" is due to an apparently virulent new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 that is supposed to be derived from one strain of human influenza virus, one strain of avian influenza virus, and two separate strains of swine influenza. The origin of this new strain is unknown, and the World Organization for Animal Health reports that this strain has not been isolated in pigs.It passes with apparent ease from human to human, an ability attributed to an as-yet unidentified mutation.
Symptoms : In humans, the symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort.
The time and location of the outbreak is still unknown, but was first detected when flu cases were reported by officials in Mexico. Within days, hundreds more suspected cases were discovered in Mexico, with cases also showing up in the U.S. and several other countries like Spain, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Israel and even parts of Asia like Hongkong and Southkorea.
On April 28, 2009, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed the first official US death of swine flu. Tests confirmed that a 23-month old toddler from Mexico, who was probably infected there, died from the flu while visiting Texas.
As the swine influenza A H1N1 virus is a new virus, no swine flu vaccine is available to prevent infections. Experts are already working on a swine flu vaccine though. It is estimated that the swine flu vaccine won't be ready until sometime around September to November 2009.
visit... http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu for further details.
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