Swine fever: (Afr: Varkgriep)
its origins and symptoms to look out for:
As the virus spreads across the globe,
fears of a pandemic are rising – but where did the disease come from and what can be done?
With cases of swine flu now cropping up across the globe the World Health Organisation has raised its pandemic warning from a two to a four on a scale of six – at level four there is a significant increase in risk.
In Britain there have now been confirmed cases and Cobra, the government’s emergency committee, has met to discuss its plans. Already the Foreign Office is advising against all but essential travel to Mexico and holiday companies First Choice and Thomson have stopped flights to Mexico.
There have also been confirmed cases in the US, Canada, Spain, New Zealand and Israel – and more are expected. In Mexico, where the outbreak was first reported, the number of probable deaths has risen to 159.
WHAT IS THE VIRUS?
It is a flu virus that affects pigs, often hitting farms in autumn and winter. It rarely spreads to humans. But when it does, the outbreak begins with someone being in contact with an infected pig.
Flu viruses have the ability to mutate quickly,
and pigs provide an excellent host for this. The new version has developed the ability to spread among humans, who then infect each other through coughing and sneezing. It cannot be spread by eating pork or pork products.
This outbreak has been caused by a version of the H1N1 strain of influenza type A. It is the same strain as causes flu outbreaks in humans, however the new version contains genetic material from strains of the virus that affect humans, birds and swine.
WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?
The symptoms are the same as with normal flu: fever, coughing, sore throat, body aches. Several of those diagnosed with swine flu after trips to Mexico mistook the first signs as the effects of jetlag.
Some patients have also reported diarrhoea and vomiting. In Mexico, those who have died suffered from pneumonia and respiratory failure.
Victims will have a temperature, and many airports are fitting scanners so that people arriving from affected areas with a fever can be quarantined. Outside Mexico the virus appears milder than many had feared – although sufferers have been hospitalised.
WHO IS CATCHING IT?
According to reports so far, the new strain is most lethal to those in the 25 to 45 age range. This is ominous because it was the hallmark of the Spanish 1918 flu pandemic that killed tens of millions worldwide. However, the circumstances were quite different: many thousands of victims were young men recovering from service in World War One.
Experts say it is too soon to draw comparisons with the 1918 outbreak, but chief medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson says that up to 30-40 per cent of the population could become ill in the next six months if it does turn into a full-blown pandemic.
On the plus side, the H1N1 strain is far less dangerous than H5N1, or bird flu, and the cases outside Mexico do not appear to have been as serious as those in the country where the outbreak began.
CAN THE VIRUS BE CONTAINED?
No, it’s too late. There are no travel restrictions into or out of Mexico, though the British Foreign Office is advising against non-essential travel to the country.
In Mexico itself, mass gatherings are banned as are handshakes and kisses on the cheek. Schools and universities are currently closed. Restaurants in Mexico City have been ordered to close, too.
IS THERE A VACCINE?
Not yet. In Britain two drug companies have been contracted to develop vaccines. Scientists at the National Institute for Medical Research in north London are reported be working on virus samples provided by the US. A vaccine would take several months to prepare.
HOW WILL BRITAIN DEAL WITH AN OUTBREAK?
Because of the recent bird flu scare, Britain has a stockpile of the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza, enough to treat half the population. These drugs will not cure swine flu, but they should reduce its severity and help limit its spread while a purpose – made vaccine is developed – though to make enough for the majority of the population would take months.
SHOULD WE BE WEARING FACEMASKS?
No. The Department of Health advises that “available scientific evidence does not support the general wearing of facemasks by those who are not ill whilst going about their normal activities”.
However, the Department is making efforts to increase its stock of facemasks for use by hospital staff in the event of a pandemic being declared. 
All UK homes to receive swine fever leaflets
Results of tests on 23 Scottish patients should give a better picture of how the virus is spreading
Health authorities are anxiously awaiting the results of tests for swine fever virus in 23 people in Scotland. The results should give them a better picture of how the flu virus is spreading. Fourteen of those being tested are people who have been on holiday in Mexico or the United States and have reported flu-like symptoms; another nine are people who have been in contact with the Falkirk couple, Iain and Dawn Askham, who are already confirmed as Britain’s first known cases.
The Askhams, who contracted swine fever while honeymooning in Cancun, Mexico, are continuing to recover in Monklands Hospital in Airdrie, Lanarkshire. If any of the nine friends they saw before they were isolated have contracted the virus, it will the first known case of the fever spreading within Britain.
In the meantime, the Department of Health in London is to start delivering leaflets to every UK household about what precautions to take against the swine fever virus. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said that a massive stockpile of Tamiflu, put in place because of the bird flu scare, means Britain is among the world’s best prepared countries to deal with a serious outbreak of the new flu strain.
Worldwide, Mexico has raised its estimate of the number of suspected deaths to 159. There have still been no deaths outside Mexico, but the number of confirmed cases elsewhere is rising. In the United States, 64 cases are now confirmed. There are also confirmed cases in Canada, New Zealand, Israel and Spain.
Across Britain, unconfirmed cases are being investigated in Wales, Wiltshire and Derbyshire. Anyone who believes they may have swine flu is asked not to visit their GP’s surgery, but to telephone for advice.
By Jack Bremer/FIRST POSTED APRIL 29, 2009
SWINE FEVER! |
