H1N1 stomach flu, the new flu and swine flu are all names for the pandemic flu spreading over big parts of the world at the moment. It's caused by the flu virus type A, specifically the subtype h1n1, therefore the name. The difference between this new h1n1 stomach flu and the normal seasonal flu occurring during the winter is that (probably) many more will get infected and sick. The reason for this is the never before seen genetic composition of the virus. The first cases of h1n1 stomach flu were reported from USA in april 2009 where two people, independently, had been contaminated. The next step in the develop was the discovering of the fact that similar cases also had been found in Mexico. H1n1 stomach flu is a new type of flu and this means that no one has ever suffered from it before this year. The name swine flu comes from the early reports in media and has become the common name of the h1n1 stomach flu. Why is this disease called h1n1 stomach flu? The name comes from the chemical and biological composition of the virus. The full length name is A(H1N1) and it's a type A flu virus. On this virus there are primarily two different proteins on the surfaces. These are called H and N. among birds there are 16 different types of the H-protein and 9 types of the N-protein. Type A flu is classifies according to which type of the H and N proteins that occur on the surface of the virus. Since the H-protein can have a number between 1 and 16 and the N-protein can have a number between 1 and 9, H1N1 stomach flu means that the H-protein is type 1 and so is the N-protein.
H1N1 stomach flu symptoms
The symptoms for h1n1 stomach flu are very similar to those you get from the annual seasonal flu. That is to say; sudden fever, air way problems, runny nose, cold, cough and also pains in the throat, head and body limbs. You get tired and sometimes you also vomit or get diarrhea. The h1n1 stomach flu can sometimes come with a pneumonia. You should always contact a doctor if you get trouble breathing. In rare cases people carry the virus without getting ill themselves. This is called having an asymptomatic infection. The effect on the body in these cases is minimal and the body temperature changes only slightly. In these cases the person suffering from the infection has probably a low production of virus and therefore is the risk for contaminating others with h1n1 stomach flu rather small.
H1N1 stomach flu contamination
The most common reason for getting contaminated by h1n1 stomach flu is from people around you. If they carry the virus and accidentally coughs or sneezes, you may get small particles with the virus of h1n1 stomach flu on you. Even though the virus doesn't hit you directly, you can get contaminated. The virus can actually survive on all kinds of surfaces for varying amounts of time; from only some seconds to several days. The factors which decide the survival of the virus are for example temperature, humidity, light exposure and pH. The incubation period for h1n1 stomach flu is 1 to 7 days with an average time of 3 days. “Incubation period” means the time from when you get contaminated to when you actually get sick. The number of persons who has gotten sick is difficult to count because the inhabitants of so many countries is involved and in a single country there is still too lacking control to get a trustworthy number. In a country, the institutions for contamination control, is noticed when people suffering from h1n1 stomach flu come to a hospital and also about cases confirmed in laboratories. This statistical number doesn't accurately reflect the true number of cases in the health care or in the society as a whole.
Prevent h1n1 stomach flu contamination
Even though you can never be absolutely sure not to get contaminated by h1n1 stomach flu, there are a few simple things you can do to drastically decrease the risk. The best way is to avoid contagious environments. These are places with a lot of sick people or in other ways a high risk of contamination of h1n1 stomach flu. Such environment are of course hospitals but also schools and kindergartens. Children can't like adults understand the importance of keeping virus substances away from your body. Where many people are crowded together the risk of contamination is also bigger. A good way of avoiding h1n1 stomach flu virus is to retain good and thorough routines for hygiene. This includes to wash you hands often, carefully and regularly, to cough and sneeze in your armpit or a handkerchief and to stay at home if you're not feeling too well. Avoid contact with people you know are sick. When washing you hands, don't use water only but a good soap and after drying your hands, apply an alcohol-based hand rub to kill possible virus of h1n1 stomach flu. Since the virus can get stuck to different kinds of surfaces, it's important not to touch your face or mouth with your hands after touching possible virus filled surfaces. This is good to think about for example when shopping.
H1N1 stomach flu vaccine
The absolute best way to make sure you don't get h1n1 stomach flu illness is to get vaccinated. This time a year you should get both the h1n1 stomach flu vaccine and the seasonal flu vaccine. Many countries offer h1n1 stomach flu vaccine to all its inhabitants. When you take the vaccine you don't only ensure your own safety, you also decrease the risk for others to get sick because of you. There are people who because of medical reasons are unable to take the vaccine for h1n1 stomach flu and it's all ours responsibility to help and protect each other. If the majority takes the vaccine, fewer will get sick and important activities like health care and energy supply can be maintained. Then what is a vaccine really? It's a medicine produced to give protection against a specific disease caused by virus or bacteria. Different kinds of vaccines stimulate the immune system the same way a real infection does and creates an active immunity. This is achieved through the production of anti bodies. Pandemrix is one of the vaccines against the h1n1 stomach flu.
Who get contaminated by h1n1 stomach flu?
Many of the persons who has gotten ill in h1n1 stomach flu has been young, around 20 to 25 years. This is unusual because often these young people are the ones with the best resistance when it comes to diseases and influenza. Investigations show that people over 65 years has a lower risk of getting contaminated bu h1n1 stomach flu virus. Of the people who has gotten sick, very few has been over 50 years old and even fewer over 60. Young children and pregnant women on the other hand, has a bigger risk of getting sick. Though, the h1n1 stomach flu virus isn't transferred through the breast milk when breast-feeding. On basis of today's knowledge about influenza, small children with chronic diseases are in a high-risk group. Babies and children younger than two years always get more ill than older children and therefore you have to observe originating symptoms carefully. Some information says that if a pregnant woman gets contaminated, she can get more ill than others. It's important that everyone who suspects that they have been contaminated or who are already sick in h1n1 stomach flu, get in contact with health care.
