Swine influenza
Swine influenza (also called H1N1 flu, swine flu, hog flu, and pig flu) is an infection by any one of several types of swine influenza virus. Swine influenza virus (SIV) is any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As of 2009, the known SIV strains include influenza C and the subtypes of influenza A known as H1N1, H1N2, H3N1, H3N2, and H2N3.
Swine influenza virus is common throughout pig populations worldwide. Transmission of the virus from pigs to humans is not common and does not always lead to human influenza, often resulting only in the production of antibodies in the blood. If transmission does cause human influenza, it is called zoonotic swine flu. People with regular exposure to pigs are at increased risk of swine flu infection. The meat of an infected animal poses no risk of infection when properly cooked. Read more
Pregnant Women, Health-Care Workers Top Swine Flu Vaccine Candidates
CDC advisory panel outlines priorities for a fall flu shot rollout
Women who are pregnant, children 6 months and older and health-care workers should all get top priority when the H1N1 swine flu vaccine arrives this fall, a U.S. government advisory panel recommended late Wednesday.
Added to that list of first-line recipients are parents and caregivers of infants, non-elderly adults with risky medical problems and young adults ages 19 to 24, according to the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The panel met in Atlanta to review data for setting swine flu vaccine priorities.
“The committee recommended five target groups for the initial focus for immunization,” Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a late-afternoon news conference Wednesday. “These are groups that had higher risk of disease, who had greater burden of complications.” Read more
