Swine flu
BMJ 2009; 338 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.b1791 (Published 30 April 2009) Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b1791
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As we all know, swine flu is spreading quickly and involving mostly
children.Swine flu,hog flu or pig flu are the same names for this disaster
condition.Transmission of virus form animal to animal and to humnan is not
common. People who work with pigs, especially people with intense
exposures, are at risk of catching swine flu.
Swine influenza was first proposed to be a disease related to human
influenza during the 1918 flu pandemic, when pigs became sick at the same
time as humans.The 2009 flu outbreak is due to a new strain of subtype
H1N1 not previously reported in pigs.
Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache,
chills and fatigue. The 2009 outbreak has shown an increased percentage of
patients reporting diarrhea and vomiting. For treatment, antiviral drugs
work best if started soon after getting sick, but prevention is better than
cure. So the best slogan nowadays is catch it, bin it, kill it.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
We often read that 'healthy people' contract diseases and die from
them. I question just how healthy, then, were such people. With
generally declining health and obvious and documented increase in chronic
and degenerative diseases, it became a habit to describe even people with
asthma and other diseases as 'otherwise healthy' and if not that then at
least normal. There is, of course, a huge difference between what is
considered normal and how healthy or sick people really are; these days it
is considered quite normal to be quite sick.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests
It is interesting to see this virus infecting healthy adults and
children. More than 150 healthy people have died and were 20-40 years of age.
During the 2004–2007 influenza seasons, median age of the children
who died was 5 years. Children were said to progress rapidly to death;
45% died within 72 hours of onset. Staphylococcus aureus isolated from
endotracheal tubes was said to be resistant to treatment in 64%. Children
with co-infection were significantly older and more likely to have
pneumonia and acute respiratory distress syndrome than those who were not
co-infected (2).
In 1918 pandemic flu the major cause of death was said to be
Staphylococcus aureus secondary infection. Knowing invasive Staphylococcus
aureus infection is associated with practical procedures and devices, we
must take adequate care to prevent introducing bacteria when performing
practical procedures. If H5N1 or muted virus start spreading from
developing nations combined with this Antibiotic Resistant Bacterial
infection, these bacteria will soon bring an end to our profession.
REFERENCE
(1) Finelli L, Fiore A, Dhara R, et al. Influenza-associated
pediatric mortality in the United States: increase of Staphylococcus
aureus coinfection. Pediatrics 2008;122:805-11.
(2) Thompson WW, Shay DK, Weintraub E, et al. Mortality associated
with influenza and respiratory syncytial virus in the United States. JAMA
2003;289:179-86
Competing interests:
Inventor of alternate practical procedures (cannula, catheters, et-tube fixation device) to help reduce spreading bacterial infections.
Competing interests: No competing interests
Tap the World's Traditional Medical Systems in Planning for a Global Influenza Pandemic
In the threshold of this new epoch of humanist modernity, we are
facing the threat of a new global influenza pandemic. One of the valuable
lessons from the l918 flu and the 2003 SARS pandemic is the sucessful
activation and mobilization of the resources of the tradition of Chinese
medicine in dealing with these global health risks. However, these efforts
were spontaneous and unplanned. I believe that we can better cope and save
more human lives when we coordinate the resources coming from modern
Western scientific medicine and the rich experiential,spiritual and
material resources from various local, traditional, and indigenous medical
systems from all over the world in dealing with a possible flu pandemic.
Hence here in the southern hemispherical region of Australia, we are
tapping our Qi ٠ in planning for the a possible seasonal influenza.
Our winter season began yesterday May 5, 2009.It is the start of solar
period (subseasonal phase or 'jie qi' �ߟ†) of 'winter
Begins' or 'li dong'—§“~ of the Chinese Medical &
Agricultural Lunisolar Calendar [2009]. Hence, in accordance with the yin
and yang philosophy of Chinese medicine, during the winter season we have
to preserve out Yang Qi (yang vital energy) so as to ward off all Yin
infectious Qi like the flu virus which according to studies love the cold
weather and survive longer in colder conditions.
Competing interests:
None declared
Competing interests: No competing interests