Necessary Precautions - WHO Standard Recommendations
- Avoid close contact with people who appear unwell and who have fever or coughs.
- Wash your hands with soap and water frequently and thoroughly
- Practice good healthy habits including adequate sleep, eating nutritious food, and keeping physically active
Necessary Precautions - Other Sources
- Cough or sneeze into your arm (inside elbow) or into a tissue, (discard immediately in trash). Do not cover your mouth with your hands.
- See your doctor if you have a fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue, diarrhea or vomiting
- Clean and disinfect surfaces frequently with a registered disinfectant cleaner that has the Influenza A and/or Avian Flu claims.
- Viruses can survive on hard surfaces for two hours or longer so regularly clean & disinfect high touch surfaces such as cafeteria tables, desks, door knobs, light switches, desk tops, restroom fixtures, telephones, door push plates, elevator buttons etc.
Cross Contamination - Surfaces to Watch
Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and settle on surfaces. Germs are then spread when a person touches these respiratory droplets and then their own eyes, mouth or nose before washing their hands.
Medicine for Treatment
CDC recommends the use of Oseltamivir or Zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started soon after getting sick (within 2 days of symptoms).
Past Cases of Swine Flu
Like seasonal flu, swine flu in humans can vary in severity from mild to severe. Between 2005 and January 2009, 12 human cases of swine flu were detected in the U.S. with no deaths occurring. However, swine flu infection can be serious. In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin was hospitalized for pneumonia after being infected with swine flu and died 8 days later. In 1976 a swine flu outbreak in Fort Dix, New Jersey caused more than 200 cases with serious illness in several people and one death.
In Case of an Outbreak
In case a local outbreak occurs, and in particular when it is confirmed that there is a risk that the virus will spread from person to person, the World Health Organization (WHO), World Health Organization for Animal Helath (OIE), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and local health authorities will likely issue further strict requirements and procedures to minimize the risk of human cross-infection in closed as well as public areas.
The situation, as of 29.04.2009, has been identified as a Phase 4 alert which is characterized as involving “sustained human-to-human transmission” by WHO.
