MITE: SEMINAR ON SWINE FLU AWARENESS

A thought provoking seminar on "The burning issue of Swine flu" was hosted by ECSA today, here at the MITE campus. Dr. Ashwin Pai ,Surgeon, Wenlock Hospital , Mangalore , briefed students on the causes, symptoms and precautionary measures to be taken against Swine Flu.

Here's a gist of it:

H1N1 virus or the Swine flu is a mutant virus commonly causing flu in pigs and other animals.This new virus was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. Children, pregnant women and elderly people stand a higher risk of contracting the virus. The symptoms of H1N1 (swine) flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.
Spread of H1N1 (swine) flu can occur in two ways:

• Through contact with infected pigs or environments contaminated with swine flu virus.Eating pork does not transmit this virus.
• Human to human transmission.

Droplets from a cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air. The virus can spread when a person touches respiratory droplets from an infected person on a surface like a desk, for example, and then touches his own eyes, mouth or nose before washing his hands.People with H1N1 infection are contagious as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following illness onset. Presently, there is no vaccine available against H1N1,but a few simple precautionary measures can go a long way in preventing the disease:

• Wash your hands frequently.
• Cover your mouth or nose when you cough or sneeze.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Avoid close contact with sick people.

In the case of high fever and cough which subsides but returns soon in a worsened form the patient is advised to visit the hospital immediately.

Warning: Aspirin (pain reliever) , if used to treat H1N1 symptoms can cause Reye's Syndrome(severe damage of the liver) which can lead to death.

This hour long session was an eye opener and gave the students a better understanding of the H1N1 virus.