Swine Flu FAQs, Part 2
Updated August 14, 2014.
From Harvard Health Publications (used with permission):
Q: How long are people contagious?
A: Adults should be considered contagious until at least 7 days after the start of symptoms; with children, it may be 10 to14 days.
Q: How sick do people get from this virus?
A: This is one of the most puzzling things about the new H1N1 virus. Most people infected with the virus in countries other than Mexico, including the U.S., have had a relatively mild illness, more like the regular flu, and have fully recovered.
However, in Mexico, cases have been more severe, and there have been some deaths. The regular flu viruses that come each winter can occasionally cause severe illness and death. Most often, this happens in very young children or frail elderly people.
Some experts speculate that the virus first infected people in Mexico and has become weaker as it has spread to the U.S. and other parts of the world. Other experts speculate that because hot, humid weather diminishes the spread (and, possibly, the severity) of influenza, the approach of summer may be limiting the severity of the illness.
The truth is that no one knows why some people get sicker from the virus than others, nor if future cases are going to have milder or more severe illness.
Q: I hear the virus seems to be losing its punch. Is that true?
A: Not entirely. The number of cases and deaths from H1N1 in Mexico appears to be slowing and schools and businesses are reopening. However, a growing number of countries now have reported cases of the virus, and most states in the U.S.
now have some confirmed cases. On the other hand, there have not yet been widespread epidemics of the illness in countries other than Mexico, and only one death outside of Mexico has been reported.
Despite some good news, health authorities are not relaxing their efforts, for good reason. First of all, influenza viruses change their genes so frequently that epidemics caused by influenza viruses can change their character quickly. The epidemic could flare up anywhere, even again in Mexico.
Maybe more important, the H1N1 virus could spread to the southern hemisphere, where the winter months are from June through August, gain strength there, and then return to the northern hemisphere with a vengeance in the fall or winter of 2009. That has happened with past pandemics: a summer reprieve was followed by a major outbreak in the fall and winter.
Q: Who gets swine flu?
A: Any person of any age can catch any kind of influenza. With the regular, yearly influenza, young children and older adults are most vulnerable, particularly to more severe illness. What worries some experts is that many of the deaths in Mexico have been in young, healthy adults. And in the U.S., too, most cases have been in healthy young adults—although, fortunately, the illness appears milder than in Mexico. The young age of the victims is worrisome because, in past pandemics like the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919, it was also young, healthy people who were most severely affected.
Q: How bad can a global pandemic be?
A: The worst global pandemic in modern times was the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It affected about a third of the human race, and killed at least 40 million people in less than a year—more than have been killed by AIDS in three decades. The world economy went into a deep recession. The average length of life dropped for 10 years. In other words, global pandemics can be a really big deal. On the other hand, other pandemics have been considerably less serious than the 1918 to 1919 influenza pandemic.
Q: Are there treatments?
A: As of now, the new virus is killed by two antiviral medicines—oseltamivir and zanamivir. Based on experience with other flu viruses, treatment would be most effective if given within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. As long as this current swine flu virus is infecting people, it is likely that health authorities will recommend that people with more severe illness take these medicines.
On the other hand, there is no proven benefit from using the medicines before symptoms develop, and there is proven harm: unnecessary widespread use of these drugs could produce drug-resistant viruses.
Date Last Reviewed: 2009-05-05T00:00:00-06:00
Date Last Modified: 2009-05-05T00:00:00-06:00
From Harvard Health Publications (used with permission):
Swine Flu: Questions and Answers from Harvard Medical School
Q: How long are people contagious?
A: Adults should be considered contagious until at least 7 days after the start of symptoms; with children, it may be 10 to14 days.
Q: How sick do people get from this virus?
A: This is one of the most puzzling things about the new H1N1 virus. Most people infected with the virus in countries other than Mexico, including the U.S., have had a relatively mild illness, more like the regular flu, and have fully recovered.
However, in Mexico, cases have been more severe, and there have been some deaths. The regular flu viruses that come each winter can occasionally cause severe illness and death. Most often, this happens in very young children or frail elderly people.
Some experts speculate that the virus first infected people in Mexico and has become weaker as it has spread to the U.S. and other parts of the world. Other experts speculate that because hot, humid weather diminishes the spread (and, possibly, the severity) of influenza, the approach of summer may be limiting the severity of the illness.
The truth is that no one knows why some people get sicker from the virus than others, nor if future cases are going to have milder or more severe illness.
Q: I hear the virus seems to be losing its punch. Is that true?
A: Not entirely. The number of cases and deaths from H1N1 in Mexico appears to be slowing and schools and businesses are reopening. However, a growing number of countries now have reported cases of the virus, and most states in the U.S.
now have some confirmed cases. On the other hand, there have not yet been widespread epidemics of the illness in countries other than Mexico, and only one death outside of Mexico has been reported.
Despite some good news, health authorities are not relaxing their efforts, for good reason. First of all, influenza viruses change their genes so frequently that epidemics caused by influenza viruses can change their character quickly. The epidemic could flare up anywhere, even again in Mexico.
Maybe more important, the H1N1 virus could spread to the southern hemisphere, where the winter months are from June through August, gain strength there, and then return to the northern hemisphere with a vengeance in the fall or winter of 2009. That has happened with past pandemics: a summer reprieve was followed by a major outbreak in the fall and winter.
Q: Who gets swine flu?
A: Any person of any age can catch any kind of influenza. With the regular, yearly influenza, young children and older adults are most vulnerable, particularly to more severe illness. What worries some experts is that many of the deaths in Mexico have been in young, healthy adults. And in the U.S., too, most cases have been in healthy young adults—although, fortunately, the illness appears milder than in Mexico. The young age of the victims is worrisome because, in past pandemics like the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919, it was also young, healthy people who were most severely affected.
Q: How bad can a global pandemic be?
A: The worst global pandemic in modern times was the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It affected about a third of the human race, and killed at least 40 million people in less than a year—more than have been killed by AIDS in three decades. The world economy went into a deep recession. The average length of life dropped for 10 years. In other words, global pandemics can be a really big deal. On the other hand, other pandemics have been considerably less serious than the 1918 to 1919 influenza pandemic.
Q: Are there treatments?
A: As of now, the new virus is killed by two antiviral medicines—oseltamivir and zanamivir. Based on experience with other flu viruses, treatment would be most effective if given within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. As long as this current swine flu virus is infecting people, it is likely that health authorities will recommend that people with more severe illness take these medicines.
On the other hand, there is no proven benefit from using the medicines before symptoms develop, and there is proven harm: unnecessary widespread use of these drugs could produce drug-resistant viruses.
Date Last Reviewed: 2009-05-05T00:00:00-06:00
Date Last Modified: 2009-05-05T00:00:00-06:00
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