H1N1 is a new virus
that was
first detected in people in April 2009. It was originally referred as
“swine flu” because many of the genes in this new
virus were
similar to influenza viruses that occur in pigs. Further study has
shown that this new virus is a "quadruple reassortant"
virus because it has two genes from flu viruses that normally
circulate in pigs, avian genes and human genes. This virus is
spreading from person-to-person, in the same way that regular
seasonal influenza viruses spread.
The
outbreak intensified
rapidly on June 11, 2009, the WHO signaled that a global pandemic of
influenza A (H1N1) was underway by raising the worldwide pandemic
alert level to Phase 6.
The
symptoms of novel H1N1 flu
virus in people are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and
include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches,
headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have
been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and
vomiting; like seasonal flu, severe illnesses and death has occurred
as a result of illness associated with this virus.
There
are not enough
informations at this time to predict how severe A/ H1N1 flu outbreak
will be in terms of illness and death or how it will compare with
seasonal influenza.
Scientists
believes that this virus has the same properties in terms of spread
as seasonal flu viruses. With seasonal flu, studies have shown that
people may be contagious from one day before they develop symptoms to
up to 7 days after they get sick.
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