Like people, pigs can get influenza (flu), but swine flu viruses are not the same as human flu viruses. Swine flu does not often infect people, and the rare human cases that have occurred in the past have mainly affected people who had direct contact with pigs.

But the current swine flu outbreak is different. It’s caused by a new swine flu virus that has changed in ways that allow it to spread from person to person and it’s happening among people who have not had any contact with pigs.

The ministry of health has already offered hope to Rwandans that the country is free from the deadly swine flu virus. According to reports from the ministry of health, health experts from various parts of the country will be trained on how to overcome the virus.

Reports from the ministry of health indicate that the training is set to begin with hospitals found with in Kigali and later will be availed to other parts as well. The ones to be trained are trainers who will pass on the acquired knowledge to others. They include doctors, laboratory technicians, nurses and supervision officers.

Symptoms

Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat runny nose, body aches, headache chills, and fatigue. Many people with swine flu have had diarrhea and vomiting. 

Nearly everyone with flu has at least two of these symptoms. But these symptoms can also be caused by many other conditions. This means that the doctor can not know basing only on the patient symptoms, if one has got swine flu.

He has to be tested to confirm whether it’s swine flu or some other condition. But certain groups are at particularly high risk of severe disease or bad outcomes if they get the flu.

This group of people includes; pregnant women, young children especially those under 12 months of age, people with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease, people with HIV infection, people with chronic diseases.

Also to mention are people taking immune suppressing drugs, such as cancer chemotherapy or anti-rejection drugs for transplants.  People in these groups should seek medical care as soon as they get flu symptoms.

If the patient or any person has flu symptoms, she or he should stay home, and when one cough or sneeze, should cover mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterward, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.

That will help prevent the person’s flu from spreading. In case a person has got flu symptoms, and lives in or recently visited an area where H1N1 swine flu cases have been identified, Health care workers should advise him to seek medical advice from doctors.

These also include people who have flu symptoms but have not been in a high risk area. One should keep in mind that the doctor will not be able to determine whether a person has swine flu, but he or she may take a sample from the patient and send it to a state health department lab for testing to see if it’s swine flu.

If the doctor suspects swine flu, he or she would be able to write you a prescription for right medications such as Tamiflu or Relenza. It is also important to note that various groups of people can be affected by various warning signs. 

Children should be given urgent medical attention in case they; have fast breathing or trouble breathing, have bluish or gray skin color, are not drinking enough fluids, are not waking up or not interacting, are so irritable that the child does not want to be held, have flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough and have fever with a rash.

Adults should seek urgent medical attention in case they have or develop; difficulty breathing or shortness of breath, pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen, sudden dizziness, confusion and severe or persistent vomiting.

How it is spread

The new swine flu virus apparently spreads just like regular flu. One could pick up germs directly from an infected person, or by touching an object they recently touched, and then touching your eyes, mouth, or nose, thereby delivering their germs for their own infection.

This is why a person should make washing of hands a habit, even when he or she is not ill. Infected people can start spreading flu germs up to a day before symptoms start, and for up to seven days after getting sick.

The swine flu virus can become airborne if the patient cough or sneeze without covering the nose and moth, thereby sending germs into the air.

Treatment

The new swine flu virus is sensitive to the antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza. These drugs can prevent and treat swine flu. They are most effective when taken with in 48 hours of the start of flu symptoms.

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