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Wednesday, April 29, 2009

US Swine Flu Cases Increase

Reports about the outbreaks of the Swine Flu virus in humans that first started in Mexico, but have now also traveled to the United States has dominated the news lately. Leaders and health officials from around the world are paying close attention to this serious health threat, hoping it will not continue its spread across the globe. The swine influenza virus or swine flu typically only affects pigs; however, this is not the first time that this virus has passed from animals to humans, and then human to human, although there have never been as many cases as there have been confirmed so far.

Officials from the Centers for Disease Control are at this time still advising people NOT to panic as confirmed cases of swine flu infections have not yet reached the numbers that would point to a pandemic level. They do recommend that people take precautions to protect themselves from a swine flu infection. Washing your hands frequently and avoiding close contact with people who are coughing or showing other possible symptoms of the swine flu, can help protect you from catching this serious infection. Anyone feeling flu-like symptoms like coughing, chest congestion, fever, and nausea, fatigue, and body aches should see their doctor immediately for testing to see if they have the swine flu virus. Infected persons should stay home from work and school so that they do not pass this infection on to others.

People do need to know that swine flu is highly treatable and rarely do people with otherwise healthy and non-compromised immune systems, die from this infectious disease. You cannot catch swine flu from cooking or eating pork. High cooking temperatures kills bacteria that cause can illness present on raw foods. Use the same precautions for safety in handling pork as you do with any other raw meats.

I hope that in the next 10 days, this infectious disease will have run its course and will no longer be the large-scale threat to human health that it is right now.

Stay Healthy Everybody!

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