›› H1N1 questions and facts from the CDC: Podcast Edition What can I do to protect myself from getting sick? ...the H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and will be ready for the public in the fall. As always, there is a vaccine available to protect against seasonal influenza this year.There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza.
›› What should pregnant women know about 2009 H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu)? Call your doctor right away if you have flu symptoms or if you have close contact with someone who has the flu. Pregnant women who get sick with H1N1 can have serious health problems. They can get sicker than other people who get H1N1 flu. Some pregnant women sick with H1N1 have had early labor and severe pneumonia. Some have even died. If you're pregnant and have symptoms of the flu, take it very seriously. Call your doctor right away for advice.
All information provided by the CDC
If you think 2009 H1N1 flu can't affect you, your family, or your friends-think again. Take 60 seconds to watch this reminder on why vaccination is so important. All of the excuses any of us make don't stand a chance against this serious disease.
What is H1N1? H1N1 is a new influenza virus that was first detected in people in the United States in April 2009. This virus is spreading from person-to-person worldwide, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread.
Why is H1N1 sometimes called the "swine flu"? This virus was originally referred to as "swine flu" because laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs (swine) in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs.
What can I do to protect myself from getting sick? There is no vaccine available right now to protect against the H1N1 virus. However, a the H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and will be ready for the public in the fall. As always, there is a vaccine available to protect against seasonal influenza this year.
There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza.
Take these everyday steps to protect your health:
Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
If you are sick with flu-like illness, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Keep away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick.
Other important actions that you can take are:
Follow public health advice regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other social distancing measures.
Be prepared in case you get sick and need to stay home for a week or so; a supply of over-the-counter medicines, alcohol-based hand rubs * (for when soap and water are not available), tissues and other related items could help you to avoid the need to make trips out in public while you are sick and contagious.
What are the signs and symptoms of this virus in people? The symptoms of the H1N1 flu virus in people include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea. People may be infected with the flu, including the H1N1 and have respiratory symptoms without a fever. Severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus.
What should I do if I get sick? If you live in areas where people have been identified with the H1N1 flu and become ill with influenza-like symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny or stuffy nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, you should stay home and avoid contact with other people. CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.) Stay away from others as much as possible to keep from making others sick. Staying at home means that you should not leave your home except to seek medical care. This means avoiding normal activities, including work, school, travel, shopping, social events, and public gatherings.
If you have severe illness or you are at high risk for flu complications, contact your health care provider or seek medical care. Your health care provider will determine whether flu testing or treatment is needed.
If you become ill and experience any of the following warning signs, seek emergency medical care.
In children, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Fast breathing or trouble breathing
Bluish or gray skin color
Not drinking enough fluids
Severe or persistent vomiting
Not waking up or not interacting
Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
In adults, emergency warning signs that need urgent medical attention include:
Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
Sudden dizziness
Confusion
Severe or persistent vomiting
Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough
H1N1 Vaccine Every flu season has the potential to cause a lot of illness, doctor's visits, hospitalizations and deaths. CDC is concerned that the new H1N1 flu virus could result in a particularly severe 2009-2010 flu season. Vaccines are the best tool we have to prevent influenza. CDC hopes that people will start to go out and get vaccinated against seasonal influenza as soon as vaccines become available at their doctor's offices and in their communities. The seasonal flu vaccine is unlikely to provide protection against the H1N1 influenza. However a H1N1 vaccine is currently in production and will be ready for the public in the fall. The H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu vaccine - it is intended to be used along-side seasonal flu vaccine.
CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel made up of medical and public health experts, met July 29, 2009, to make recommendations on who should receive the new H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. While some issues are still unknown, such as how severe the flu season will be, the ACIP considered several factors, including current disease patterns, populations most at-risk for severe illness based on current trends in illness, hospitalizations and deaths, how much vaccine is expected to be available, and the timing of vaccine availability.
Who should receive the vaccine? The groups recommended to receive the H1N1 influenza vaccine include:
Pregnant women because they are at higher risk of complications and can potentially provide protection to infants who cannot be vaccinated
Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age because younger infants are at higher risk of influenza-related complications and cannot be vaccinated. Vaccination of those in close contact with infants younger than 6 months old might help protect infants by "cocooning" them from the virus
Health care and emergency medical services personnel because infections among health care workers have been reported and this can be a potential source of infection for vulnerable patients. Also, increased absenteeism in this population could reduce health care system capacity
All people from 6 months through 24 years of age
Children from 6 months through 18 years of age because cases of the H1N1 influenza have been seen in children who are in close contact with each other in school and day care settings, which increases the likelihood of disease spread, and
Young adults 19 through 24 years of age because many cases of the H1N1 influenza have been seen in these healthy young adults and they often live, work, and study in close proximity, and they are a frequently mobile population; and,
Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
