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Common Diseases > Swine Flu August 2009 Swine Flu declared a Pandemic by the WHO in April 2009 Swine flu Cases have been confirmed to have affected 177,699 people in 210 countries and territories and caused 1,126 deaths up until the end of July 2009 and as of 6 July 2009, the WHO stopped producing detailed worldwide figures.. While all the usual influenza viruses that normally afflict us contribute to the deaths of over a half million people per year world wide, the swine flu seems to be less virulent killing far fewer people and the current pandemic only causes a mild illness for most people affected. Those most at risk seem to be people with weak immune systems, the elderly, children and pregnant women and provided you take sensible precautions such avoiding pigs and pig farming areas, maintaining good personal hygiene, ensuring you maintain a lifestyle whereby your body gets the nutrients and exercise needed to not only stay healthy, but keep your immune system strong so that these annoying viruses cannot affect you. Origins  Swine
influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of
the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human
influenza, but can result in the production of antibodies in the blood. If
transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People
with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection but
the meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked.During the mid-20th century, identification of influenza subtypes became possible, allowing accurate diagnosis of transmission to humans. Since then, only 50 such transmissions have been confirmed. These strains of swine flu rarely pass from human to human. Symptoms of zoonotic swine flu in humans are similar to those of influenza and of influenza-like illness in general, namely chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and general discomfort. The increased prevalence of swine flu today most likely stems from the factory farming methods used to produce pigs. These large farms often have thousands of pigs confined in pens with very little space. Animal welfare groups are often in the news pointing out the cruel conditions that factory farmed livestock must endure. The close confinement of animals is a breeding ground for disease and the large corporations that run the factory farms take minimal responsibility and as described in this BBC Documentary, the pigs have no personal space, they exist on concrete floors and are often covered in their own muck and that of their cell mates. Details: Swine influenza (also called H1N1 flu, swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3. Influenza & Bird Flu References: BBC Documentary Animal Rights Groups
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