Symptoms of Swine Flu

Usually confined to pigs, swine flu (also referred to as swine influenza or swine fever), is in the news right now, since it seems to be infecting humans as well. This virus is quite common among pigs, and there are regular outbreaks of this virus among them. Sty owners regularly vaccinate their pigs to protect them from the swine flu, but obviously, vaccinations aren't foolproof. Lately, this virus has begun to affect human beings and has been spreading among populations across countries in a very large way.

So, how do you know if you have swine flu? Well, here are the signs and symptoms:

• Firstly, there are no specific or unique symptoms to the swine flu.

• The initial symptoms could be the same as any other seasonal influenza--viral fever leading up to pneumonia. Some of the swine flu symptoms or indications include fever, fatigue, nausea, running nose, irritated nose, infection of the upper respiratory tract, body ache and severe reduction in appetite, vomiting, diarrhea and sometimes dry cough.

If you find that you are suffering from a combination of the above-mentioned symptoms, it is best to consult a physician, take precautionary measures, and commence medication.

• In general, to the extent possible, avoid international travel during this time, and until the World Health Organization's health warnings are removed. If you have returned from an international trip and seem to have these symptoms, then it is best to mention this to your physician and to stay away as much as possible from human contact.

Make a note that mere occurrence of some of these symptoms is no reason to panic and suspect swine flu. Like I said, the symptoms are very similar to seasonal flu or fever. However, caution is certainly advised, and medical attention should be sought at any rate.

• Currently, swine flu cases have been reported from parts of the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe, Africa, China, Japan and some other parts of Eastern Asia. So, if you are in any of these territories or have recently visited them, or if you know of anyone suffering from these symptoms, and if they have visited these regions recently; then it is possible that you have swine flu.

It must be noted that swine fever is not contracted by eating pork. As always, cook any meat well. Swine fever virus is killed by cooking meat at 160 degrees Fahrenheit or 70 degrees centigrade. The swine fever virus normally spreads among people from the infected pigs; some reports are now coming in of the virus spreading through human-to-human contact among closed groups of people.

Presently, there are no specific vaccines to contain the spread of the swine fever among human beings. Ironically, but true, those people that are in regular contact with pigs have higher immunity to the swine fever and sometimes escape infection.

These are some general guidelines to identify if you have swine fever. Medical consultation is highly recommended in cases of the above symptoms.