Swine Flu has become a very popular topic in the news and in media generally over the last few months. This is because it can have fatal consequences, and it can spread quickly. Flu is very contagious, and the risk of carrying a flu that is fatal as well as very spreadable makes it very newsworthy.

However, it is important to remember that it is possible to be rational and realistic about Swine Flu. Here is some information about the symptoms of the illness. Looking carefully at these should give you some ideas on how to best look after yourself if you become unwell.

So far the majority of Swine Flu cases have been exceptionally mild. If you do recognise any of the symptoms detailed here, however, it is important that you consult with a doctor, so that if it is Swine Flu you are dealing with, it can be treated early.

If you or a member of your family has what is recognised as a high temperature (over 38 degrees centigrade) and two or more of the following symptoms, it is important that you consult with a medical professional as soon as possible.

• If you or a member of your family is feeling unusually tired then it is worth monitoring this tiredness to see if it degenerates into a persistent condition. This means if you are more fatigued than usual when carrying out tasks, for example. If the sufferer feels more tired generally it could be a symptom.

• If the patient has a persistent headache, this could be a symptom. Essentially, if the headache is hard to treat, then it could well be serious, and it is important that you consult with a doctor.

• A runny nose could be another reason for concern. This means a constant runny nose over time. A slight sniffle is not in this category, so it is worth remembering that the nose has to be running quite persistently before anyone should be worried.

• A sore throat could be a problem. This is very easily detectable, but if it is persistent and extremely sore, than it is worthwhile contacting the medical professionals.

• Any shortness of breath could well be cause for concern too. If you are feeling out of breath for prolonged periods of more than a few minutes, there is generally a good reason fro contacting your doctor. If this is accompanied by a persistent cough, then it is definitely time to call the doctor.

• If you or anyone in the home has aching muscles, then it is worth monitoring the situation, and seeing if it is persistent enough for you to have to call a doctor. This is one of the symptoms of Swine Flu.

Remember, if you have a high temperature and two or more of the listed symptoms, then there is every chance that you are showing some symptoms of Swine Flu. To put your mind at rest, contact your doctor immediately.

Swine Flu

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There are many flu viruses in the avian populations but the H5N1 infection is the most worrisome for health service officials for a couple reasons.

One, H5N1 infection has been responsible for the highest number of recorded cases of extremely virulent illness as well as the highest mortality rate. On three occasions it has jumped species to infect humans most recently in 2004 and our current trouble, but also in Hong Kong in 1997 when there were 18 infections and one third of them fatalities and also Hong Kong in 2003 with 2 cases and one death.

Two, and even more disconcerting is that the current H5N1 virus runs the risk of mutating, if enough chances are presented to it, into an infection of pandemic proportions. Thus far the H5N1 virus has displayed all the rudimentary qualities it needs to initiate a pandemic except one critical component, the capacity to be effectually transmitted from human to human. While currently the H1N1 virus is at the critical pandemic level, the potential for a pandemic to develop from a mutated human version of H5N1 virus must not be ignored.

The H5N1 virus can suddenly begin infecting people in two ways. The first is in an exchange process between viruses. The genetic matter is passed between a human and bird flu virus while there is a mutual infection of the two viruses with a person or a pig. This trade of material or shuffling process could mean the mutated result is a very dangerous and highly infectious pandemic virus and would be introduced into society by a rash of human cases and a rapid spread.

Another method would be slower but no less perilous, adaptive mutation is caused by the virus attaching to human cells in a steady manner through successive human infections and the virus becomes more capricious and pernicious as it gathers momentum forming small groups of human illness where there is confirmation of person to person contact. This second version of events would at least, if discovered early enough, give authorities some valuable time to respond.

In the Hong Kong H5N1 influenza spate of 1997, there were eighteen cases of illness which happened to take place when there was an outbreak of a far more severe and contagious bird flu by a virtually matching strain of the virus occurring on poultry farms and in public poultry markets. Intense follow up studies with familial and personal contacts of the patients, health care personnel, and those who culled flocks of birds determined there was little confirmation, in not any at all to confirm the spread between humans. In three days time, the culling of all poultry in Hong Kong ensured there was no further human infections. This at the expense of a million and a half birds that world medical officials credit with preventing a pandemic of avian influenza.

Everything up until now points to humans making contact with infected or dead birds as the primary source of illness in humans from H5N1 virus. People at risk are those who butcher, pluck feathers, initiate the bird kill process and those who process poultry meat for consumption when handling infected bird carcasses. Some individuals came into contact with chicken feces specifically using a poultry free range as a playground for kids and subsequently became ill. Experts also believe that swimming in water that contained dead bird cadavers or where infected birds could have contaminated with their droppings is potentially a further cause of some infections.

Not all cases of initial virus exposure could be indentified making authorities consider the possibility that some undiscovered infectivity factor with the virus may be the cause of certain cases. Some thoughts about what this cause may be area possible connection with feral birds such as pigeons or perhaps employing bird droppings as a form of fertilizer. For the time being H5N1 avian influenza is primarily a bird illness. The obstacle of single species strains of flu is noteworthy since the virus does not transfer from birds to humans without difficulty.

Notwithstanding the fact that there have been millions upon millions of diseased poultry in huge areas since the year 2003 there have only been less than a couple hundred cases of clinically diagnosed human H5N1 infection. There must be a reason, as yet not understood, why many of these infections occurred out in the country or semi rural locations where families and farmers maintain smaller stocks of poultry. It is also an anomaly that there are fewer infections in those groups that would ordinarily be considered at greater risk such as industrial poultry personnel, live poultry market vendors, those who cull flocks, veterinarians, health care workers who aid the patients that are ill, many not having the proper safety gear to do so without leaving them vulnerable.

There is also a lack of data or understanding of why kids who were in good health and medically fit young adults seemed to get ill. Health officials need to quickly discover logical reasons for this type of exposure. Are there certain behaviors involved? Perhaps there are immunity or genetic circumstances that seem to leave these groups vulnerable to infection?

Evaluating Potential infections in People

Examining many of the verified human infected with H5N1 virus, those in Asian nations and in Turkey, showed that direct contact with diseased avian species as presumably the primary reason for exposure. When reviewing likely infections, medical personnel should be inclined to look at those people displaying signs of influenza symptoms such as respiratory illness, hyperthermia etc. and those persons with a close proximity to birds. Particular attention should be paid to those presenting with these symptoms who reside in locations of verified outbreaks of the contagious H5N1 bird flu are active. If those presenting symptoms are from an environment where avian fecal matter may have caused contamination then than perhaps this would be a secondary consideration for exposure.

To this point, human infections of H5N1 virus are not all the responsibility of contact with diseased carcasses or tame bird stock that look like they are ill. In 2005 reports showed that domicile ducks could emit large amounts of high contagion virus but display none of the illness symptoms. There was no threat to people who ate poultry from these countries provided they cooked their poultry well and those people did not take part in prepping the food.

Since there is not a sign of any person to person spread of this virus anywhere, there is no discernable hazard for anyone travelling to these countries where outbreaks occur provided obvious precautions are taken such as staying away from open air poultry markets, farms or any other location where diseased bird contact is imminent or has occurred in the past.

How Clinical Symptoms Present

When a patient with H5N1 influenza becomes ill the infection is usually quite aggressive during its path, with patients displaying a fast decline with an elevated mortality. As with most new diseases, H5N1 influenza has a long learning curve for health officials. Health services data compiled in 1997 along with the latest epidemic are only now starting to illustrate the clinical characteristics of the infection yet there is so much left to study. Making matters worse is the fact that the virus has a habit of mutating quickly meaning its unpredictable nature makes disease mapping that much more frustrating for researchers.

The infection development phase for H5N1 avian flu is probably longer than the more common seasonal influenza which stand around two or three days. Any current information regarding disease incubation shows a range of two days to eight and quite probable extending to a length of seventeen days. But the Likelihood of numerous exposures to the H5N1 virus means accurately calculating a disease development period quite difficult. The WHO is currently saying clinicians should use a seven day gestation period in order to conduct examinations at ground zero for illness and when observing patient acquaintances.

The illness presents itself through elevated temperature, higher than 38° Celsius with influenza type indicators. Vomiting and diarrhea, stomach pain, chest pain and gum and nosebleeds have been cited as pre symptomatic signs with certain patients. Watery diarrhea with no blood seems more common in H5N1 than in the season variety of flu. The range of illness symptoms may be wider still. Verified patient illnesses have not all included respiratory problems.

Several Vietnamese persons infected the diagnosis was severe encephalitis: neither of these people showed any respiratory distress when they presented. Another infection in Thailand had the patient presenting with hyperthermia and diarrhea but no lung/breathing distress. In all three of these infected patients they had been in direct contact with diseased poultry.

A characteristic observed in a number of illnesses was the development of indicators in the lower respiratory tract in the beginning stages of the illness. Many patients display these lower respiratory symptoms when initially looking for treatment. Based on current knowledge, breathing irregularities begin to manifest about day five of the onset of illness. Respiratory trouble, hoarseness in the voice, and a discernable crackly noise while inhaling are most likely observed. Phlegm production is erratic and occasionally tainted with blood. Lately there have been bloody respiratory secretions seen in Turkey. Nearly all patients wind up with pneumonia.

Throughout the Hong Kong influenza illness spurt, the severely sick people showed primary viral pneumonia that antibiotics couldn’t help. Inadequate information about patients in the current outbreak show the signs of primary viral pneumonia in H5N1 that usually fail to show signs of bacterial supra-infection when determining diagnosis. Turkey medical officials have documented pneumonia as a consistent characteristic in more harsh cases, and the same as other patients, these people did not respond to being treated with antibiotics.

Those patients with H5N1 Influenza suffer a quick decline in their illness. There was a six day time period from the beginning of the flu to respiratory distress in Thai patients with an overall spectrum of four to thirteen days. Severe Turkish H5N1 illnesses the respiratory decline was three to five day after initial symptoms appeared according to medical experts. Something else which appears all too common is the irregular function of multiple organs. General laboratory anomalies, consisted of leukopenia (chiefly lymphopenia), mild-to-moderate thrombocytopenia, prominent aminotransferases, and with several occasions of disseminated intravascular coagulation.

There is some confirmation that particular antiviral medications, especially Oseltamivir or generic Tamiflu as it is known commercially, as they decrease the ability of the virus to reproduce thus improving the odds of survivability. They must be taken inside a forty eight hour window from the start of symptoms to be effectual. Data collected from the Turkish outbreak suggests that the majority of those with the virus were diagnosed and treated well into their course with the illness. It is because of this information that the use of Oseltamivir as a treatment is somewhat incomplete.

Oseltamivir or Tamiflu and other antiviral medications where produced as forms of treatment and as prophylaxis methods for seasonal variations of influenza, known to be a less severe version of flu as well as having a longer virus reproduction process in the body. The options for treatment courses and dosage quantities are still in a state of fluidity for oseltamivir – tamiflu therapeutic treatment of H5N1 influenza as it is with child illness of the virus. The WHO is continually monitoring and reviewing these antiviral practices as they require vital revision.

When a case of H5N1 influenza is suspected, generic tamiflu needs to be prescribed and taken as quickly as possible, preferably within forty eight hours from becoming symptomatic in order to optimize the value of the medication. Given the virulence of the current strain and the length of time of replication process, mortality rate etc. it would behoove the primary physician to begin treatment with generic Tamiflu also in those patients who are well into the illnesses course.

The existing suggested dosages for generic tamiflu for influenza virus treatments can be located on the Manufacturer – Roche’s website under product information. Currently the optional dose for generic tamiflu for influenza therapy is 150 mgs daily for children thirteen years and over and also adults, administered twice daily at 75 mg each for a course of five days minimum. There is no record of Tamiflu treatment for kids under one year old. The WHO health experts are looking into issuing treatment dosages and recommendations for children under the age of one year.

Since H5N1 viral reproduction periods could be extended, clinical personnel should reflect on increasing the tamiflu course treatment from five days up to seven or ten days in patients who are not responding to average treatment courses. When a patient displays severe H5N1 infection, they may want to raise the suggested daily dosage or length of treatment time. Clinicians also need to remember that Tamiflu dosages higher than 300 mg per day can be responsible for an increase in adverse effects . These same clinicians may want to consider administering serial clinical samples for future examination so viral loads can be monitored, an assessment can be made on medication susceptibility and levels of tamiflu can be reviewed. But, these samples should only be ingested where suitable procedures for infection control are available.

When a patient with H5N1 is suffering from a severe form of the illness and hampered by gastrointestinal symptoms, the absorption of Oseltamivir – Tamiflu could be hindered. Clinicians need to be cognizant of this prospect when treating patients such as these.

Bird Flu

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The risk would be calculated but how do you respond when there is no way to forecast when it will get severe and yet the cost of doing nothing could be ominous. It is an impossibility to know in advance when a bird flu pandemic will happen and so forecasting a crisis is difficult and the possibilities are vast. What is certain is that the next great pandemic is nearing its due date if not having surpassed it.

The twentieth century bore witness to three deadly pandemics. The Spanish influenza in 1918 -1919 in which some estimates claim nearly fifty million people perished. The Asian influenza of 1957 -1958 with approximately one million fatalities and the 1968 – 1969 Hong Kong influenza took anywhere from one million to four million lives. Estimates vary widely as a testament to the lack of record keeping and resources during a major worldwide health crisis.

All three of these outbreaks are believed to have had their origins in avian species. There are fifteen known bird flu virus sub variations and H5N1 is specifically anxiety producing. This strain of avian flu has slammed domestic bird sectors in eight nations, of these three of them, Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, have reportedly had altogether seventy nine human infections and more than fifty percent of these illnesses were deadly.

Never has there been such destructive fallout to so many nations by the H5N1 bird influenza virus at once causing anxiety to populations and economies to suffer so greatly in both farms and residences as well as industrialized poultry producers. The H5N1 Bird flu strain has displayed two frightening characteristics thus far, the ability to spread infection quickly and to cause harsh disease in humans. What it has not yet shown is the capability to spread human to human. If and when this third indicator appears it would be considered the beginning of a pandemic and would certainly prompt an international reaction from The World Health Organization and the initiation of emergency preparedness plans for an influenza pandemic.

The worry right now is that this H5N1 bird flu virus could mutate, it has a history of doing just that, developing the means to spread more easily from person to person contact. Experts wonder if this mutation or change could occur from adjusting to the infected masses or via an inherent modification with a known human influenza virus. Currently the infection is spread through direct human exposure with contagious domestic poultry.

The WHO has stated that there is no confirmed link of any continued person to person diffusion instead there were limited infection sequences that remain quite typical in bird flu virus not yet tailored to people. It is understood by authorities that each specific cluster of infected persons could be an indicator of an oncoming pandemic, meaning each case needs to be examined promptly.

Expert clinicians concur the unparalleled scope and transmission of H5N1 bird flu has increased the chances of a serious influenza pandemic reoccurring, their human mortality approximations are anywhere from two million to fifty million globally. Because of international travel being so common and the massive amount of trade between countries there is little that can be done to inhibit the spread of the virus worldwide.

When SARS [severe acute respiratory syndrome] was a problem a few years ago, infected persons were able to be identified and quarantine measures taken at airports. H5N1 Infected persons during a pandemic are going to be able to infect anyone they come in contact with before symptoms even start to present. This is a real concern for the medical and health services since infected travelers won’t be caught at the airports this time.

The WHO is asking all of its member nations to urgently review and revise their influenza pandemic emergency response plans. It is mainly industrialized, more affluent nations that have done these revisions while many others are scrambling to do so. These preparedness plans are based on suggestions made by the WHO to utilize a phased reaction in order to decrease the feared force of any influenza pandemic.

The plan is to produce a vaccine quickly and warehouse antiviral medications such as generic tamiflu or Oseltamivir, which has displayed an effectual response to the H5N1 bird flu virus. Generic Tamiflu will probably be as effective against any upcoming flu strains in the future as well. The WHO has also recommended thirty other pandemic guidelines not related to medical intercession that should prove valuable if we are facing a pandemic.

If we make the assumption that the H5N1 has its roots in the Far East Asian nations we must also assume that we will not be able to stop it from reaching the industrialized western nations of North America and Europe. When it lands here it will hit with a ferocity racking up illnesses and causing havoc with our daily lives. Preplanning for this event horizon will go a long way to decreasing the effect overall on the national communities affected.

The United Kingdom has decided to acquire nearly fifteen million therapeutic courses of anti viral medication Oseltamivir or Generic Tamiflu. This means treatment can be given to one in four Britons who could potentially be infected, this number estimated by the WHO for antiviral stocks on hand. Great Britain is only one of a number of countries that are stockpiling Tamiflu and other antiviral medications. They are also taking part in the research to quickly ramp up production of a vaccine against any future H5N1 pandemic flu outbreak.

Current influenza vaccines won’t give any defense against a future pandemic flu virus. But knowing that a potential mutation will initiate from H5N1 and have little difference genetically, The WHO is urging its members that preventative warehousing of current vaccine may be an option of some protection for wealthier countries to consider. At least it would be available immediately and it may offer a certain amount of help from the human exposed pandemic virus. There is the hope that this could also bring about investment from companies to begin pandemic vaccine development. Vaccine has an expiry date of a couple years so it could in the end just be thrown away but it would be considered cheap insurance in the event of a full blown pandemic health crisis.

Countries like China, France, Canada, Japan, the UK and the United States have made arrangements with manufacturers to produce a sample H5N1 vaccine, but if any new flu strain is drastically modified from the H5N1 virus the vaccine will be deemed ineffective. This on the back of a report from the WHO stating that a vaccine offering protection against the H5N1 as it is now could be nearly as effective against a new variation. Error on the side of caution according to the richer nations.

For the first time many countries are affected outright by the disease and the economic losses alone are overwhelming for farmers, industrial poultry producers and common households in these countries.

Currently the vaccine production is taking place in Australia, North America, Europe and Japan but during a pandemic the need will stretch around the world. There are concerns that less affluent countries seem to get hit the hardest by the influenza pandemic because their people tend to be less fit and undernourished. Poor countries have fewer health service staff and weaker health organizations overall that can’t stand up to the load of a pandemic virus and are lacking an emergency preparedness plan of any significance.

Because of a lack of resources most emergent nations are concentrating on surveillance of the H5N1 disease rather than warehousing antiviral tamiflu and vaccine production. If a pandemic hits these areas they will be extremely susceptible to illness in overwhelming numbers and not have the medicinal resources to anything about it.

The danger faced by humans from H5N1 flu has been second guessed lately. Medical personnel initially approximated the mortality figures at about ninety percent but adjusted that number as additional cases became obvious so the number dropped down to sixty seven percent along with newer confirmation of a lack of symptoms shown in many people so there may well be more cases that go unnoticed making an accurate death toll difficult to predict and possibly much lower than originally considered. It should be mentioned that a lower death tally doesn’t necessarily mean a lesser menace to humans from the H5N1 virus.

With H5N1 it was always suspected that the illness cases to death ratio seemed strangely elevated and the range of illness more general than only severe cases that were being recorded. Still, with lower fatality numbers based on more cases of illness, easier spreading of the flu virus means more people will get infected and hence, more individuals will become fatally ill.

The WHO is still quite certain that a pandemic of H5N1 virus will hit us globally. Regardless of all the unanswered questions surrounding the bird flu virus and its shock to society, preplanning for a pandemic will have a positive effect on the outcome. Lives will be saved, some will be lost, and the economy will still take a beating along with societal structure in general but emergency response organization will be improved and that is at least something positive. Better to be prepared as much as possible regardless of a nations internal capabilities.

Bird Flu

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Any chance for a vaccine to combat the H5N1 influenza will probably take a while yet to produce. Should the major pharmaceutical companies start producing immediately after an epidemic occurs, there won’t be enough of the vaccine to offer any kind of adequate provision for the nations that are in dire need – meaning the Asian countries. This means that for the foreseeable future antiviral medications such as oseltamivir –generic tamiflu and zanamivir – relenza and perhaps other older antivirals such as amantadine and rimantadine are going to be the first line of defense.

Drugs such as generic tamiflu and amantadine are referred to as neuraminidase inhibitors which both decrease and shorten the severity of flu symptoms and they can provide prevention measures from influenza as subsequent contact and seasonal prophylaxis medications. Influenza preparedness strategies recommended by the World Health Organization, WHO, and many governments globally as a rule support detection, isolation, primary responder protection, and beginning antiviral treatment therapy for those with the illness and those in contact with them. Most national governments have already begun warehousing at exorbitant costs, huge amounts of generic tamiflu [Oseltamivir] in preparation for a potential epic rash of illness.

in any case, the effectiveness of the neuraminidase inhibitors, even when taken as a prophylaxis in healthy people taken within the forty eight hour window from the beginning of flu symptoms is only small. The utilization of tamiflu in five of ten cases documented in Vietnam did not display any clear medical effectiveness and there was an eighty percent fatality rate found in this effort. Neither tamiflu – oseltamivir nor relenza – zanamivir, were directly evaluated in the restricted study.

Both antiviral medications have related pharmacological properties and both offer comparable effectiveness; zanamivir- relenza appeared to have fewer side effects to manage and a better resistance report. This resistance report would carry much weight in the event of a pandemic. The zanamivir is not being stockpiled in anywhere near the amounts as tamiflu is and this could be because of the potential challenges of administering an inhalant medication for children and intellectually impaired persons. Zanamivir does have some original and practical methods for use in children.

The incidence of bronchial problems and decreased lung utility is not very common, and those suffering with asthmatic conditions and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease or [COPD] are able to abide by the inhalation of the zanamivir – relenza, along with the placebo. Zanamivir has options for dry inhalant devices which are popular among these same patients even in times of problematic situations with their illnesses.

With this in mind, nation governments need to contemplate warehousing zanamivir as an antiviral option along with generic tamiflu as part of their emergency preparedness planning. The antivirals must be dispensed to ill patients and those who have been exposed to them within forty eight hours of becoming symptomatic. The logical position for health officials to take is allowing community health care services and drug store pharmacists to be responsible for getting the antivirals medications into the hands of those who need them in a timely manner rather than counting on potentially overstretched hospital based health providers to do the job.

All nations and their health services sector should include H5N1 study trials in their preparedness planning testing a dual role for tamiflu and zanamivir with prospective new medications and not; specifically testing SIRNA’s and interferon. These are in experimental phases now and hold promise as antivirals. More important is that these studies when conducted in the outset of a pandemic offer valuable data for late stage virus control and patient care. Vaccine producers are located mainly in wealthier industrialized nations and so delays getting the bird flu vaccine into the underprivileged Asian countries that need it. The wise decision would be to initiate some production of neuraminidase inhibitors and vaccine in these areas to rectify these shortages. Questions arise about drug patents during a pandemic that could lead to global crisis.

From a virus control perspective having available tamiflu and zanamivir antivirals stockpiled and or produced in these outbreak countries would aid in controlling the anticipated spread of the illness, nipping it in the bud so to speak. Developers such as Roche for oseltamivir [generic tamiflu] are already licensing out to many overseas countries. India has pharmaceutical companies prepared to begin producing generic tamiflu but cannot obtain government approval to do so. Restrictions and red tape need to be removed in order to take the fight to the virus with as much clinical punch as possible.

Medical study modeling has displayed to researchers that H5N1 influenza is more contagious than severe acute respiratory syndrome [SARS virus] and the preparations and management model for controlling SARS may not be sufficient for a pandemic of influenza, particularly H5N1. If this isn’t looked at and changes aren’t made to these plans the community health services in infected nations will become strained to the maximum in short order. SARS showed that when hospital personnel are under equipped in staff and resources they become discouraged and personnel begin to abandon their posts. Especially when these first responders begin to see their co workers become infected by clinic borne H5N1 contagion and they aren’t treated in an ICU setting. Health care officials at all levels of government must see that they protect their health care providers and show they are being conscientious. These health care professionals on the front line will also be depended on for their skills to handle the repercussions of a pandemic so their continued health should be paramount in the planning stages of a pandemic.

Bird Flu

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Some people have raised concerns that the use of oseltamivir may cause flu virus strains to become resistant to other flu medications, but its current use is effective in stopping the spread of the flu in the body. Oseltamivir does not stop the spread of the flu virus to other individuals and regular hand washing is required.

The Swine Flu, or H1N1 flu virus, is thought to have originated on a pig farm in Mexico City. Although pigs typically carry this strand of flu virus, it does not usually kill the animals. H1N1 cannot be contracted by eating pork products and is rarely transferred to humans. However, the recent outbreak in humans and spread of this virus across countries throughout the world has raised concerns about this viral infection.

The symptoms of this flu typically include fever, chills, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, and headaches. The virus affects the upper respiratory tract, and if untreated it can spread to the lungs and bronchi. This virus is highly contagious and it can spread quickly through coughing, sneezing, saliva, and other bodily secretions. Antibacterial drugs are not effective in treating the flu but can help alleviate the symptoms. The flu virus can only be successfully treated with an anti-viral drug such as Oseltamivir.

Boosting your immunity system with Vitamin C, Vitamin D, Beta Carotene, and antioxidants can help prevent your susceptibility to contract this disease and aid in fighting the flu virus. Drink plenty of fluids such as orange juice and water to keep your body hydrated when fighting the flu. Getting adequate sleep and eating a healthy diet will help your body’s natural immunity to fight this viral infection.

Since the current spread of the H5N1 and H1N1, (Swine flu) virus has now reached the pandemic levels; people are flooding to their doctors to ask about having a personal stockpile of generic tamiflu at home, and as its most effective treatment should begin as soon as exposure to the virus has occurred. As well, if people who contract the flu virus are able to treat it themselves at home, they will limit the spread of the disease by traveling to pharmacies, clinics or doctor’s offices.

However, this scenario has some dangers. If the drug is misused, it may lose its effectiveness in fighting the flu virus, and this result has already starting to occur in several clinical studies in Japan. As the virus mutates, the new strains become drug resistant. The results of these Japanese studies may be skewed, however, as some of the doses given to children were insufficient to fight the virus. A clinical study in the United States where doses were higher did not show any resistance to the drug.

Another problem with stockpiling of generic tamiflu could lead to insufficient doses being administered when needed to treat the flu virus, and also an inadequate supply of the drug available where it is needed most. If Oseltamivir, or generic tamiflu treatment is stopped when symptoms cease but before the full effects of the drug are fully realized, it can lead to a resistance of the drug. Children, in particular, are infectious for longer periods of time than adults who have the flu virus, and when treatment ceases prematurely, the risk of spreading the virus is higher.

When stockpiling the drug, individuals must be aware that a few cases of counterfeit generic tamiflu have occurred. If the increased demand for generic tamiflu creates a need to import illegally, criminal activity can result. There is a concern that the medication will be counterfeit. In San Francisco in December 2005, a shipment of 53 packages of generic tamiflu was found to contain a mixture of Vitamin C and lactose.

Oseltamivir has been used in veterinary clinics to treat canine parvovirus infection, a highly contagious and often fatal virus affecting dogs. It has been successfully administered in a limited number of cases to decrease the severity of symptoms and decrease hospitalization time. The drug seems to stop the virus from infecting the crypt cells in the small intestine, and decreases the production of toxins and bacteria.

Tamiflu

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Flu can be characterised as one of three types, either strain A, B or C. This does not mean much to the sufferer who is lying in bed at home, but it is important to the physician who treats you. It is suffice to say that whatever flu strain you have, there is usually treatment for it. The different strains do mutate quite frequently, and can mutate into further more serious varieties. This is why there are so many people with flu throughout the year, due to the fact that it mutates and changes so rapidly.

Flu normally grips people in late fall to early spring. This is the most common period of the year in which flu begins to spread. However, it can of course affect people at any time of the year. This must be taken into account when any of the symptoms come about, because sufferers need to know that, no matter what time of the year it is, flu is still a possibility.

When it comes to the sufferers of flu, no one is exempt. Children and old people are most vulnerable, because their immune systems are not entirely robust (as is the case with children) or the immune systems are more vulnerable (as is the case with elderly people). That said, anyone can contract the flu, so everyone needs to be aware of the problems associated with it. Flu is spread by droplets of mucous from the mouth and nose. This is why it is so contagious. If a person who has flu sneezes or coughs, then the droplets are released in a cloud into the air, therefore infecting a large number of people. Then if the person who has just spread the flu touches any objects, the virus can then be spread to others.

The virus can spread from one day before symptoms appear, and for up to five days after someone gets sick with it. This means that anyone who has flu is, in effect, contagious before they get it, and long after the sickness period starts. This is why some particularly virulent strains of flu requires people to be quarantined. The safety of others is at risk before a person is even diagnosed as having flu.

The flu itself generally lasts for about a week. If you have the flu you will generally be running a fever, have considerable aches and pains, and feel generally quite tired, to the point of exhaustion if you are very unlucky. All of the usual symptoms that one associates with the common cold will become apparent during a bout of flu as well. In effect, anyone who has the flu can generally expect to be incapacitated for several days while they recover.

Tamiflu is generally recognised as the best treatment for the symptoms of flu. While there is no cure for the virus as such, Tamiflu is generally prescribed by doctors who want to lessen discomfort. However, Tamiflu is only effective within two days of the symptoms appearing.

The most important thing you can do when you get the flu is to take some rest. This is one of the biggest problems that occur when people who have the flu decide to keep on going about their daily lives. The key thing is to get into bed as soon as possible and do your best to sleep for as long as you possibly can. This will not actually be that difficult if you have flu. You will be so exhausted that all you will want to do is get some rest. Whatever you do, resist the urge to go to work, or to soldier on with some aspects of your daily life. The exhaustion should tell you that carrying on in this way is ill-advised. So the best thing you can do above all else is get into bed and stay there until you feel better.

There is another reason for plenty of bed rest. The flu is highly contagious, and taking to your bed will reduce the risk of the flu actually affecting anyone else. Remember that if you touch anything once you have the flu, there is every chance that you will put someone else at risk of contracting the virus. Do not do it, stay in bed and protect those around you.

Ensure that plenty of fluids enter your body. Water is the best thing for fluid intake. Drink lots of this while you are undergoing the symptoms of flu, and make sure that you have plenty on hand just in case you have a sudden attack of thirst. Sports drinks such as those that are used by professional runners are also good, but it is generally advisable to stick to water.

When it comes to eating, do this when you feel like it. It is very important that you do not worry about eating however, because as long as you are drinking plenty of water that is all that is important. So ensure that you drink water, and if you feel a little bit hungry here and there, then have a light snack. Chances are your appetite will be quite low, so do not worry, and keep drinking.

There are a number of over the counter cold and flu medications that you can take. Take as many of these as you feel comfortable with. If you are in any doubt, ask your physician for advice on anything that you are contemplating taking. Remember that it is your body, and that you should listen to it. Flu can be a very unpleasant sensation, but if you stuff yourself with plenty of medication, you may leave yourself open to further complications.

Having the flu is unpleasant, but if you arm yourself with the knowledge outlined above, and keep in contact with your doctor if you feel the need, then there is really nothing to be alarmed about. And if you feel that you need medication, Tamiflu is effective. Make sure, however, that you take it within two days of feeling sick.

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