MALAYSIA HAS H1N1 VACCINE FOR SWINE FLU

Bernama - Tuesday, April 28

KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has the vaccine for swine flu which can be used to stop the spread of the disease to this country.

Veterinary Services director-general Datuk Dr Abd Aziz Jamaluddin said the H1N1 vaccine should be injected into pigs as a preventive measure following reports of 81 people killed by the swine flu in Mexico.

He told Bernama that the department was only waiting for the directive from the Health Ministry to carry out vaccination on the livestock.

He believed that the H1N1 vaccine was also used by pig farms in other countries as a preventive measure against swine flu.

Dr Abd Aziz also disclosed that Health Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai had issued a directive to all State Veterinary Services directors to monitor pig farms in their respective states as a precaution and to report on any sign of swine flu infection.

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SWINE-VACCINE 2 (LAST) KUALA LUMPUR

"Stern action will be taken against them if they fail to do this. They must also ensure that all the pig breeders follow instructions like their workers must wear masks," he said.

Dr Abd Aziz said state livestock breeders' associations were required to cooperate with the Veterinary Services Department by reporting on any symptom of swine flu.

"If their workers have similar symptoms for influenza, high fever, sore throat and body aches, they must be given leave and undergo medical examination immediately."

Dr Abd Aziz said so far the department had not received any report of swine flu symptoms in the country, while the disease also had the potential of being spread to birds but the possibility was remote.

"If avian flu can spread through food like by eating chicken, swine flu cannot be spread by eating pork but through human contact," he said.

More information on the swine flu can be obtained by calling 03-88810200 or 03-88810300, or by visiting website www.moh.gov.my.

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Info about swine flu

What is the swine flu?

Sporadic swine influenza A virus (SIV) infection of humans may produce a wide range of clinical signs and symptoms. Many human cases of swine influenza A virus infection have had a history of recent direct physical contact with pigs prior to illness onset. However, close (within 6 feet), but not direct contact with pigs, also has been reported among human swine influenza A virus cases. Limited, non sustained human-to-human swine influenza A virus transmission has been documented in the published literature. In addition, some confirmed swine influenza A virus cases have not had a history of exposure to pigs.

How many swine flu viruses are there?
Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.

Worried about swine flu? Wash your hands

WASHINGTON, April 25 — Worried about swine flu? There is one easy way to protect against infection, health experts agree — handwashing.

Global health officials are worried about an unusual new strain of flu that may have killed as many as 68 people in Mexico, with 1,000 showing possible symptoms. It has infected at least eight people in the United States.

Officials at the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the California Department of Public Health said they expected to find more cases in the coming days and weeks.

Little can be done to prevent an outbreak of flu from spreading, health experts caution, but they say common sense measures can help individuals protect themselves.

Number one is hand-washing, they say — a surprisingly effective way to prevent all sorts of diseases, including ordinary influenza and the new and mysterious swine flu virus.

Cover your cough or your sneeze, wash your hands frequently, advised Dr. Richard Besser, acting CDC director. Influenza can spread in coughs or sneezes, but an increasing body of evidence shows little particles of virus can linger on tabletops, telephones and other surfaces and be transferred via the fingers to the mouth, nose or eyes.

Alcohol-based gel or foam hand sanitizers work well to destroy viruses and bacteria.

Anyone with flu-like symptoms such as a sudden fever, cough or muscle aches should stay away from work or public transportation and should see a doctor to be tested.

STAYING HOME

“If you have the flu, then you shouldn’t be getting on the bus or getting on the plane and traveling,” Besser told reporters in a telephone briefing.

“Social distancing” is another tactic. It means staying away from other people who might be infected and can include avoiding large gatherings, spreading out a little at work, or perhaps staying home and lying low if an infection is spreading in a community.

Flu experts have also long advised against trying to stockpile personal supplies of antivirals. Tamiflu and Relenza are two drugs shown to work against the current strains of seasonal influenza. Tamiflu or oseltamivir, invented by Gilead Sciences Inc and marketed by Roche AG, is a pill while GlaxoSmithKline's Relenza, known generically as zanamivir, is inhaled.

Both drugs treat a flu infection, making it less serious and perhaps making the illness last fewer days. But they must be taken within 48 hours of the first symptoms to do any good. They can also prevent infection with garden-variety flu if taken, for example, by a family member caring for a sick relative. No one knows if they will do the same with the new swine flu.

And the average person is not going to know when, precisely, to begin taking the drug. Many infections look like flu, says paediatrician and immunologist Dr Anne Moscona of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York.

Viruses and bacteria alike can evolve resistance to drugs they encounter frequently. “If you have Tamiflu at home and you take it for a cold or give it for a respiratory virus that is not influenza, we will be unable to use these drugs when we encounter a lethal strain of flu,” Moscona says. — Reuters