This is an archived UW-P news item,
originally posted: 6/2/2009.
A microbiological view of swine flu
There's been a great deal of media coverage given to swine flu in the last few months. We've been told how it's transmitted, where the outbreaks have occurred, what we can do to stay healthy, ways to avoid spreading the disease (the vampire sneeze is my favorite), and where to turn on the web http://pandemic.wisconsin.gov/ if we want still more data.
"There is an enormous amount of information about the H1N1 Influenza virus that is now available and some of it is not entirely correct," said our Biological Sciences colleague Carmel Ruffolo. "All influenza viruses are classified as highly contagious, not just the H1N1 strains."
Carmel offers the following tips for dealing with this pandemic:
"The main infectious route for this virus is AIR BORNE transmission--that is, you breathe in the virus through your mouth and nose. When someone infected with influenza sneezes, the droplets that are released contain the virus which can then come in contact with the next person. It has been recommended that hand washing is important, but someone can have very clean hands and still be able to breathe in the virus!
"Cleaning your hands is a good idea, but this alone will probably NOT prevent you from being infected with the influenza virus. To prevent possible infection, you should avoid crowded areas and people who are coughing.
"If you suspect you are infected with the influenza virus, you should seek medical advice quickly. The anti-viral drugs that are used to treat the infection will not work 48 hours after the first sign of symptoms. The symptoms include fever, body aches, runny nose, pallid completion, and sometimes sore throat and nausea.
Then Carmel offers some common sense advice to protect your co-workers from the disease. "If you are sick stay home! This will prevent you from spreading the virus."
And she adds: "Be safe and think microbiologically!"Publish date: 6/2/2009
