Karachi Fun

Swine Flu:
Swine influenza is common in pigs in the midwestern United States (and occasionally in other states), Mexico, Canada, South America, Europe (including the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Italy), Kenya, Mainland China, Taiwan, Japan and other parts of eastern Asia.


MEXICO CITY — The swine flu virus is not as lethal as authorities originally thought, Mexico's health secretary said, though the disease continued to spread quickly and kill on Friday.Tests had confirmed 397 cases of Influenza A H1N1, or swine flu, in Mexico as of Friday night, up from 312 on Thursday night, Health Secretary José Córdova said. The number of deaths rose from 12 to 16.In all, authorities had tested 908 people for the virus, he said.
"The attack rate is not as broad as was thought," Córdova told reporters, though he said it too early to say if Mexico was bringing the disease under control.He noted that China's 2002-2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, lasted three months.



Symptoms of Swine Flu:
Just like the regular flu, the symptoms of swine flu are similar. Some of the common indications of swine flu are cough, sore throat, fever, chills, headache, body aches and tiredness. Some people affected with the disease also report vomiting and diarrhea. Lack of any unique symptom makes it very difficult to detect the presence of the virus in the body. Thus, it is always useful toconduct proper testing if any of the said symptoms are occurring.

Home Remedies to Avoid Swine Flu:
* Always cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing; ideally use something disposable like a tissue. Avoid touching your face, nose or mouth too frequently with your hands since swine flu appears to be transmitted through respiratory droplets in the same fashion as the common cold.
* Wash your hands frequently with soap and water since swine flu like other viruses can be contracted by touching objects contaminated by the virus. It's unsure how long the swine flu virus can survive on surrounding surfaces.
* Though alcohol based hand sanitizers don't routinely kill viruses they probably do offer some limited protection in preventing swine flu infections.
* If swine flu infections have been medically confirmed in your area consider avoiding large public gatherings. Individuals can be contagious with the swine flu virus for several day before demonstrating any signs or symptoms of infection. Be particularly careful about indoor gatherings where air circulates poorly.
* If you're really paranoid and don't mind looking odd then consider wearing a respiratory mask. This barrier method does offer some basic protection against infection though not all masks are created equally. Higher quality masks capable of filtering out some respiratory infections are more expensive.
* If you start feeling ill with cold or flu-like symptoms do not go to work. Stay home and begin the usual home remedies for colds and flu. Contact your health care provider, local health department or hospital emergency room if your symptoms worsen or fail to improve for information about where to go to be screened for possible swine flu infection.