Gripe Porcina

INTRODUCTION

Swine flu, also known as swine influenza, is a contagious respiratory disease that pigs can get. This disease is caused by any virus that belongs to the Orthomyxoviridae family. There are different swine flu types of strains, but the most important are H1N1, H3N2, and H3N3. These different types and strains of the virus, make swine flu dangerous, but at the same time harmless dueto the variety of its components and the human body reactions as well.

BODY

Swine flu classification

There are several different types of influenza viruses, divided by types; A, B or C. But then again, this types brake down into some subtypes that characterize specie that it infects. Influenza A viruses are divided into subtypes: the hemagglutinin [H] and the neuraminidase [N]. There are16 different hemagglutinin subtypes which are labeled from H1 to H16, and 9 different neuraminidase subtypes.

The hemagglutinin is a glycoprotein that is responsible for binding the virus to the cell that is being infected. This glycoprotein presents two primary functions: The first one is allowing the recognition of target cells, and binds them, and the second one is allowing the entry of theviral genome into these target cells, which cause the union of the endosomal membrane with the viral membrane.

The neuraminidase is another major glycoprotein found on the surface of the influenza viruses. This subtype of influenza A specifically catalyzes the hydrolysis residues from virus and cells. It is also described as a receptor that destroys the enzymes and facilitates virus releaseand the spreading of it from cell to cell.

Another major fact to consider is that viruses are not a cellular life form. They are infectious entities that can only multiply inside the cells of another organism. Viruses infect all types of organisms, from bacterias to plants and animals.Influenza viruses mutate, recombine, and sometimes pick quickly change. This is why influenza vaccines must becreated annually to combat the unstable virus, and why sometimes the available influenza vaccine proves ineffective against some pandemic flu.

Transmission and symptoms

There are several ways in which people can get swine flu. People who work in farms, with birds and pigs, are prone to get this virus. People normally get swine flu by manipulating fluids that contain the virus, such asexcrement or mucus. This virus is contagious and it can be spread from human to human.
On the other hand, symptoms in pigs are not very different from symptoms in humans.
On pigs, the animals suffer cough, sneezes, mucus, reduced appetite, and fever. Usually pigs don’t die when they get the virus; they recover 5 o 7 days after getting the disease.

On human beings, swine flu also includes mucus,fever, cough, and reduced appetite, but it also includes vomit, body aches, sore throat, blackout, chills, headache, fatigue and diarrhea and occasionally, death.

If people are sick there are ways to keep from spreading the virus, such as:

* Cover their mouth and nose with a tissue if you have a cough or sneeze, or do it into your sleeve.
* Wash their hands roughly often with soap andwater, especially after coughing or sneezing.
* Stay home and avoid contact with others.

The treatment for this disease is not very different from the ones applied to a normal flu. The treatment for swine flu is based on analgesics. However, the use of aspirin or acetylsalicylic acid in children and teenagers is not considered as an option.Another strategy is the vaccination for control andprevention of the virus H1N1. There are several vaccines against the virus available in pharmacies.

Swine flu history

First, swine flu was thought to be a disease from humans during the 1918 flu pandemic, when pigs became sick at the same time that humans did. It was discovered that it was a pig disease 10 years later. Between 1997 and 2002, new types and subtypes emerged in North America,...