WebMD Provides Answers to Your Questions About Swine Flu

If I think I have swine flu, what should I do? When should I see my doctor?

If you have flu symptoms, stay home, and when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterward, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. That will help prevent your flu from spreading.

If you've got flu symptoms, and you live in or recently visited an area where H1N1 swine flu cases have been identified, CDC officials recommend that you see your doctor. If you have flu symptoms but you haven't been in a high-risk area, you can still see a doctor -- that's your call.

Keep in mind that your doctor will not be able to determine whether you have swine flu, but he or she may take a sample from you and send it to a state health department lab for testing to see if it's swine flu. If your doctor suspects swine flu, he or she would be able to write you a prescription for Tamiflu or Relenza. Those drugs aren't a question of life or death for the vast majority of people. Most U.S. swine flu patients have made a full recovery without antiviral drugs.

The new swine flu virus apparently spreads just like regular flu. You could pick up germs directly from an infected person, or by touching an object they recently touched, and then touching your eyes, mouth, or nose, delivering their germs for your own infection. That's why you should make washing your hands a habit, even when you're not ill. Infected people can start spreading flu germs up to a day before symptoms start, and for up to seven days after getting sick, according to the CDC.

The swine flu virus can become airborne if you cough or sneeze without covering your nose and mouth, sending germs into the air.

The U.S. residents infected with swine flu virus had no direct contact with pigs. The CDC says it's likely that the infections represent widely separated cycles of human-to-human infections.

As it turned out, there was no swine flu epidemic.

Even though it's an H1N1 type A flu bug, the new swine flu is a different virus than the ones that emerged in 1918 and in 1976.
I was vaccinated against the 1976 swine flu virus. Am I still protected?

Probably not. The new swine flu virus is different from the 1976 virus. And it's not clear whether a vaccine given more than 30 years ago would still be effective.
How many people have swine flu?

That's a hard question to answer because the figure is changing so quickly. If you want to keep track of U.S. cases that have been confirmed by lab tests and reported to the CDC, check the CDC's web site. If you're looking for cases in other countries, visit the World Health Organization's web site. And when you hear about large numbers of people who are ill, remember that lab tests may not yet have been done to confirm that they have swine flu. And there may be a little lag time before confirmed cases make it into the official tally.

What is the Types of Flu

Want to learn more about the different types of flu? Surprisingly, not all types of flu are the same. Some types of flu can make you very ill while other types of flu cause milder symptoms.
What is flu?
Flu viruses enter your body through the mucous membranes of your nose, eyes, or mouth. Every time you touch your hand to one of these areas, you are possibly infecting yourself with a virus.

This makes it very important to keep your hands germ-free with frequent and thorough hand washing. Encourage family members to do the same to stay well and prevent flu.
What are the different types of flu?

Type A flu or influenza A viruses are capable of infecting people as well as animals; although it is more common for people to suffer the ailments associated with this type of flu. Wild birds commonly act as the hosts for this flu virus.

Type A flu virus is constantly changing and is generally responsible for the large flu epidemics. Influenza A2 virus (and other variants of influenza) is spread by people who are already infected. The most common flu hot spots are those surfaces that an infected person has touched and rooms where he or she has been recently, especially areas where he or she has been sneezing.
What is type B flu virus?

Unlike type A flu viruses, type B flu is found only in humans. Type B flu may cause a less severe reaction than type A flu virus, but occasionally, type B flu can still be extremely harmful. Influenza type B viruses are not classified by subtype and do not cause pandemics.
How is type C flu virus different from the others?

Influenza C viruses are also found in people. They are, however, milder than either type A or B. People generally do not become very ill from the influenza type C viruses. Type C flu viruses do not cause epidemics and are not classified according to subtype.

According to the CDC, each flu vaccine contains three influenza viruses: one A (H3N2) virus, one A (H1N1) virus, and one B virus. The viruses in a flu shot and FluMist vaccine change each year based on international surveillance and scientists' estimations about which types and strains of the flu will be most potent that year.

About 2 weeks after getting a flu shot or FluMist, antibodies that provide protection against the flu viruses develop in your body.
What is the avian (bird) flu?

The avian influenza virus causes bird flu. Birds can be infected by influenza A viruses and all of its subtypes. Yet birds are not capable of being hosts for either type B or C of the influenza viruses.

There are three main subtypes of avian flu, including H5, H7 and H9. The subtypes H5 and H7 are the most deadly while the H9 subtype is less injurious.
Which type of bird flu is in the news?

People in the United States have less to fear than people who live abroad. So far, most of the illnesses associated with H5N1 have been in Asian countries among people who have had close contact with farm birds. Also, people are not able to catch the bird flu virus by eating cooked chicken, turkey, or duck. High temperatures kill the virus.
Is there a vaccine for bird flu?

Currently, there is not a bird flu vaccine available to the public. Additionally, it's important to know that the regular influenza vaccine does not provide protection against avian influenza or bird flu.