The
World Health Organization has declared the
swine flu outbreak in North
America a "public
health emergency of international concern".
The decision means countries around the world
will be asked to step up reporting and surveillance
of the disease implicated in dozens of human
deaths in Mexico and at least 8 non fatal
cases in the USA. WHO fears the outbreak
could spread
to other countries and is calling for a coordinated
response to contain it.
According
to WHO, at least 62 people have died from
severe pneumonia caused by a flu-like
illness in Mexico. Some of those who died are
confirmed to have a unique flu type that is
a combination of bird, pig, and human viruses.
The virus is genetically identical to one found
in California. US authorities said 8 people
were infected with swine flu in California
and Texas, and all recovered.
The
current WHO phase of pandemic alert has been
raised to 5.
Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human
spread of the virus into at least two
countries in one WHO region. While most
countries will not be affected at this
stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is
a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent
and that the time to finalize the organization,
communication, and implementation of
the planned mitigation measures is short.
Given
the widespread presence of the virus, the
Director-General has considered that
containment of the outbreak is not feasible.
The current
focus should be on mitigation measures.
The
World Health Organization has set up a web
page with regular updates and can
be found
at http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html.
Interim guidance for the surveillance
of human swine influenza A(H1N1) virus can
be found
here.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
has released some questions and answers
related to the swine influenza outbreak
and how you
can personally benefit from the information
at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm.
Some
excellent advice to protect yourself and
limit the spread of Swine Influenza includes:
Cover
your nose and mouth with a tissue when
you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue
in the trash after you use it.
Wash
your hands often with soap and water, especially
after you cough
or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid
touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs
spread this
way.
Try
to avoid close contact with sick people.
If
you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends
that you
stay home from work or school and limit contact
with others to keep from infecting
them.
If you live
in areas
where swine
influenza
cases have
been
identified
and become
ill with
influenza-like
symptoms,
including
fever, body
aches, runny
nose, sore
throat, nausea,
or
vomiting
or diarrhea,
you may want
to contact
their
health care
provider,
particularly
if
you are worried
about your
symptoms.
Your health
care provider
will
determine
whether
influenza
testing or
treatment
is needed.
If you are
sick, you
should stay
home and
avoid contact
with other
people
as much
as possible
to keep from
spreading
your illness
to others.
Please
note the
following
warning
signs and
seek emergency
medical attention
if any
appear.
In children
emergency
warning signs
that need
urgent medical
attention
include:
Fast
breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish
skin color
Not
drinking enough fluids
Not
waking up or not interacting
Being
so irritable that the child does not
want to be held
Flu-like
symptoms improve but then return with
fever and worse cough
Fever
with a rash
In adults, emergency warning signs that
need
urgent medical attention include:
Difficulty
breathing or shortness of breath
Pain
or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden
dizziness
Confusion
Severe
or persistent vomiting
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