Swine influenza is a conventional name for a group of strains, primarily h1n1, the influenza virus. The disease can affect both animals and humans, and be transmitted from one to the other. Actually, the name "swine flu" was widely used in 2009, when the cause of the outbreak was sick pigs. Symptoms of swine flu are virtually indistinguishable from normal human influenza, but can cause significantly more severe complications, up to a lethal outcome.
Sources of infection with swine flu
The swine flu virus has several subtypes, but is especially dangerous, capable of being transmitted from person to person and provoking the development of epidemics, is the strain of H1N1.
Swine flu is an extremely contagious disease that is transmitted by airborne droplets.
Sources of infection can be:
- sick animals;
- meat of sick animals that has not undergone sufficient heat treatment (rarely);
- sick people - when sneezing and coughing, the risk zone reaches 1.5-2 meters around the patient;
- objects used by sick people - cups, towels, objects, which were used for allocation, and which the patient used, as outside the human body the virus retains its viability for about 2 hours.
Despite the name of the swine flu, mainly epidemiological situations arise in the transfer from person to person, at the end of the incubation period and at the beginning of the disease itself.
How long does the swine flu incubation period last?
The length of the period from infection to the manifestation of the first symptoms of the disease depends on the physical form of the person, his immunity, age and other characteristics. In about 95% of the patients, the incubation period of influenza A (H1N1) is from 2 to 4 days, but in some people it can last up to 7 days. Most often, the initial symptoms, similar to ARVI, begin to appear on day 3.
Is the H1N1 influenza virus infected during the incubation period?
Swine flu is an extremely contagious disease, easily transmitted from person to person. The carrier of the H1N1 virus becomes infectious at the end of the incubation period, about a day before the onset of obvious symptoms of the disease. It is these patients that pose the greatest epidemiological threat, and therefore, in case of contact with a potential patient, even if there are no symptoms, all precautions should be followed.
After the end of the incubation period, the person on the average remains infectious 7-8 days. Approximately 15% of patients, even when treated, remain a potential source of infection and secrete the virus for 10-14 days.
Symptoms and development of swine flu
Symptoms of swine flu are practically no different from the symptoms of other types of influenza, which greatly complicates the diagnosis of this disease. Features are the course of the disease in a more severe form and the rapid development of quite serious complications.
With this disease rapidly develops severe intoxication, rises to 38 ° C and higher body temperature, there are muscle and headaches, general weakness.
Characteristic of swine flu is:
- rapid (2-3 days after the end of the incubation period) occurrence of severe respiratory syndromes;
- sinusitis ;
- pneumonia.
Approximately 40% of patients develop a dyspeptic syndrome - constant nausea, vomiting, stool disorders.
Approximately 1-2 days after the onset of the disease, there is usually a second wave of symptoms, with an increase in coughing, shortness of breath, and a general deterioration in well-being.
In addition to pneumonia , swine influenza can give complications to the heart (pericarditis, infectious-allergic myocarditis) and to the brain (encephalitis, meningitis).