Inquiries about Swine Flu

In an interview with the "Raya" Qatari newspaper, Dr. Abu Bakr
Ash-Shaafi'i, an advisor of otolaryngology at Al-'Imaadi hospital in
Qatar, said that swine flu is a severe, extremely infectious chest
disease that infects pigs. It is produced from one of the A virus
subtypes of swine flu. Although the rate of disease outbreak is high,
the death rate because of it is low)1-4%(.
Influenza spreads among pigs through direct contact or the aerosols
produced by pigs)through coughing or sneezing(, as well as through the
disease-carrying pigs that do not show any indicative symptoms. Many
countries routinely immunize pigs against swine flu.
Dr. Ash-Shaafi'i explains that the viruses of swine flu usually belong
to the subtype H1N1. But other subtypes are widespread among pigs,
such as H1N2, H3N1, H3N2. In addition to the viruses of swine flu,
pigs might also be infected by the viruses of bird flu and seasonal
flu that infects humans. It is thought that the virus H3N2 was first
transmitted to pigs from humans. Pigs, according to Dr. Ash-Shaafi'i,
are sometimes affected by more thanone type of viruses simultaneously,
causing their genes to reassort, which leads to the emergence of a flu
virus containing genes of different sources. Although swine flu
viruses usually belong to special types that affect pigs only, they go
beyond the barrier of the species to cause disease to people.
Dr. Ash-Shaafi'i stressed the importance of personal hygiene, pointing
out that swine flu does not differ, in its symptoms, from common flu
that causes a runny nose, aching bones and joints, in addition to
vomiting, diarrhea, fever, shuddering and drowsiness. Thus, the
symptoms of swine flu could be considered similar to those of ordinary
flu, but more severe.
Dr. Ash-Shaafi'i advises the observance of the following hygienic
practices as preventive precautions: wash your hands, donot kiss, use
handkerchiefs when sneezing and throw them in the trash basket
immediately after using them, do not scratch, and drink liquids more
often once thedisease symptoms emerge. Dr. Ash-Shaafi'i points out
that deathbecause of swine flu is connectedwith the weak immunity of
the affected person.
Regarding the effects on the health of mankind, many cases ofhuman
infection by swine flu, individually or collectively, have been
recorded. Its symptoms, in general, are similar to those of seasonal
influenza. But the recorded clinical cases range between infection
without symptoms and severe pneumonitis leading to death.
Because the typical clinical cases of swine flu are similar to
seasonal flu and other severe infections of the upper part of the
respiratory system, most cases have been detected by chance through
seasonal surveillance of influenza. The light cases or those without
symptoms could pass without being recognized. That is why thereal
extent to which the disease is widespread among people is unknown.
As regards the mechanism of human infection, people usually get the
swine flu from infected pigs. Nevertheless, some infectedpeople have
never had any contact with pigs, nor have they been in environments
where pigsexist. The transmission of the disease from man to man has
been recorded in some cases where there was close contact orin cases
where people have been in closed groups.
Swine flu is not among the diseases that were reported to the World
Organization for Animal Health ) www.oie.int(, hence its spread among
people isnot sufficiently known.
Swine flu is an endemic disease inthe USA, and it has occurred and
spread among pigs in the North and South Americas, Europe )UK, Sweden
and Italy(, Africa )Kenya(, and some parts of Eastern Asia)China and
Japan(.
As far as the risk of an epidemic outbreak of the disease is
concerned, most people who are not in regular contact with pigs would
probably have no immunity against the viruses thatcause swine flu to
protect them from being infected by it. If an efficient transmission
of the swine flu virus takes place from man to man, it would lead to
an outbreak of a flu epidemic, whose effects are hard to predict,as
they depend on the virus's strength, immunity among people, and the
protection caused by anti-bodies that are produced from seasonal
influenza and its breeding factors.
There are no vaccines that contain the virus of the present swine flu
that affects humans. It is also unknown whether or not the vaccines of
the seasonal flu might provide protection in that respect. It is very
important to invent a vaccine against the present type of swine flu
virus, in order to provide the maximum degree of protection for
people. That is why the World Health Organization )WHO( is in need to
detect a large number of viruses to choose the most suitable one to
use in manufacturing the desired vaccine.
Concerning the medicines available for treatment, the anti-virus
medicines used to treatseasonal influenza are available insome
countries, and they preventand treat the disease effectively. There
are two kinds of those medicines:
1. Adamantine, Amantadine, and Remantadine.
2. Oseltamivir and Zanamivir.
Most of the previously recorded cases of swine flu entirely recovered
from the disease, without need for medical care or anti-virus
medication.
Some influenza viruses have acquired immunity against anti-virus
medicines, which restricts the effect of the chemical prophylaxes. The
virusesthat have been isolated from the present human cases of swine
fluin the USA proved to be responsive to Oseltamivir and Zanamivir,
and resistant to Amantadine and Remantadine.
But, unfortunately, there is not enough information to give advice
about using anti-virus medicines to prevent and treat the virus of
swine flu. Here, clinical physicians have to make their decisions
depending upon the epidemic and clinical evaluation, and assessment of
harm and benefit caused by usingany of these to treat the diseased.
Concerning the current outbreak of the disease in the USA and Mexico,
both local and national authorities recommend the use of Oseltamivir
and Zanamivir in treatment, according to the virus's responsiveness.