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SWINE FLU: Questions and Answers

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
April 25, 2009 - 5:20 pm
 

Q. WHAT IS SWINE FLU?

A. Swine flu is a respiratory illness in pigs caused by a virus. The virus routinely causes outbreaks in pigs but doesn’t usually kill many of them. The viruses normally do not infect humans. When people are infected, usually it’s because of direct contact with pigs.

Q. CAN IT SPREAD AMONG PEOPLE?

A. The virus can spread from human to human, probably in the same way as seasonal flu, through coughing and sneezing by infected people.

Q. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SWINE FLU?

A. The symptoms in humans are similar to those of regular flu: fever, cough, fatigue, lack of appetite. It probably is spread the same way as seasonal flu, through coughing and sneezing by infected people.

Q. ARE THERE DRUGS TO TREAT SWINE FLU?

A. The CDC recommends the use of the flu drugs Tamiflu and Relenza. The seasonal flu vaccine used in the U.S. this year probably won’t protect against the latest swine flu virus.

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