Swine flu raises fear of pandemic - Adults and Children

Nurses COVID

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

How is swine flu treated? I am not seeing any resources of how. Is there a vaccine? I work very close to the area here in New York, and I am praying that there will be a town hall meeting to alert us to how this is treated and will we be innoculated.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

I just answered my own question through CDC. Here is the link: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/swineflu_you.htm

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Specializes in Too many to list.

If it is mild, then just treat the symtoms. If severe, the person is hospitalized with supportive care given, started on Tamiflu hopefully within 48 hours, and may need to be entubated.

We know that steroids do not work with bird flu. I would imagine that is also the case for Swine flu but I do not know for sure.

Most likely the CDC and the WHO are looking at the clinical picture in Mexico to see what works.

There is no vaccine yet and there will not be one for months according to the CDC. They are developing a seed strain for a vaccine.

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Specializes in Community Health, Med-Surg, Home Health.

There is a private Catholic school that is a few miles away from where I work/live that may be affected. We may have to watch for people coming to the hospital with symptoms, so, I know the minute that myself or anyone in my family even breaths symptoms, we are going to our own physician PRONTO!

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Specializes in Too many to list.

WHO To Convene On Tuesday To Discuss Changing Pandemic Alert Level

http://afludiary.blogspot.com/2009/04/who-to-convene-on-tuesday-to-discuss.html

Shall we take bets on what they are going to do? They now have left many epidemologists with their jaws dropping in amazement that the WHO has not adhered to their own guidedlines. A lot can change in two days!

"We need more epidemiological evidence from Mexico before the experts would be in a position to advise on a pandemic change," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl told Reuters on Sunday.

"An advisory body will recommend whether or not the director-general should up (raise) the phase. They are meeting again on Tuesday," he said.

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Someone posted an article that claimed the President was exposed to a person who died a week later from the flu. MSNBC just addressed this and they say that indeed the person who shook the President's hand had died but that it was from non flu related causes. Even so, that was over 10 days ago and the Pres would be sick already if he had been exposed.

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In re: changing the level to 4...there are a whole lot of economic implications with level 4 and above; large companies have plans to deal with things like this, which include closing operations, and bringing people home, stopping shipping, et cetera. There are also a whole lot of trade implications, including stopping imports/exports, in some cases. I've even read where the stock market would close at higher levels.

I suspect that the WHO is getting pressured to not change the levels just yet, d/t the enormous ramifications to the economic structure and financial health (or lack thereof) of this country (and the world at large). It is stunning, however, that the WHO has not acted independently, and done what should be done; follow their own guidelines and let the chips fall where they may. If, however, they do change the levels and institute guidelines which restrict import/export, I wonder about how that will affect interstate commerce; trucking, agriculture, and supply lines may be affected. And if that happens, that will be a serious challenge to day-to-day life for everyone.

Just my thoughts this morning...it will be interesting to see how the politics of being ill will affect the health of a nation, both economically as well as physically.

Best-

Lovin' Learning

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
That is correct. CDC said that in their briefing yesterday that it would take months, and that it would be in limited supply.

Those who took their flu vaccine last fall have some protection against this virus. You can still get that vaccine at pharmacies. Go get it!!! :up:

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Specializes in OB, HH, ADMIN, IC, ED, QI.
If it is mild, then just treat the symtoms. If severe, the person is hospitalized with supportive care given, started on Tamiflu hopefully within 48 hours, and may need to be entubated.

We know that steroids do not work with bird flu. I would imagine that is also the case for Swine flu but I do not know for sure.

Most likely the CDC and the WHO are looking at the clinical picture in Mexico to see what works.

There is no vaccine yet and there will not be one for months according to the CDC. They are developing a seed strain for a vaccine.

CORRECTION

Some protection has been conferred those who had their flu shot last fall - Mar.09, as the type of virus is A in that shot, which is so for swine virus. I'd recommend a call to your pharmacy to see if they still have their vaccine, and if so, and you haven't had it, go get it!!! :up:

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Specializes in Acute Care Psych, DNP Student.

We know that steroids do not work with bird flu. I would imagine that is also the case for Swine flu but I do not know for sure.

Do we know this about steroids being ineffective? I thought steroids would help 'damp down' the cytokine storm? (This is why I have saved my Rx bottles of prednisone...in case a pandemic ever did actually hit.)

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Specializes in Too many to list.

I apologize for contradicting you, and I wish very much that you were correct, but the seasonal flu vax will not protect you. The experience in Mexico contradicts this. And, the WHO says it will not. The viruses are too different though both are H1N1.

The only reason to give humans the seasonal flu vaccine at this point is to protect from a co-infection with seasonal H1N1. Why is this so important? The seasonal H1N1 that the vax is designed for is 98% Tamiflu resistant. If a host is co-infected with both strains, that increases the chances of Swine flu developing Tamiflu resistance. This is our major antiviral. Relenza is the only other option, and some people cannot take a drug that must be inhaled.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQX2Bo8UIPPUqdd18R6oTs2CoaHAD97PMF9G1/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gQX2Bo8UIPPUqdd18R6oTs2CoaHAD97PMF9G1

Pigs in North America are routinely vaccinated for swine flu, but no vaccine exists for humans. In any case, the flu virus evolves quickly, meaning that vaccines are soon obsolete. Health officials say there is no suggestion that the vaccine prepared for seasonal flu will protect against swine flu.

While people who are given the seasonal flu vaccine will probably be not protected against swine flu, it may prevent them from getting the seasonal flu. If they are then infected with swine flu, that reduces the possibility of the two flus mixing in that person to create a potential pandemic strain.

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Specializes in Too many to list.

Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses?

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm

A few days ago, I would have thought that there was some protection from the seasonal vax but I have learned that there is not.

I was surprised too.

No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.

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