World on Alert as Swine Flu Spreads.

Governments around the world rushed on Monday to check the spread of a new type of swine flu that has killed more than 100 people in Mexico and infected around dozens in the US. Spain became the first country in Europe to confirm a case of swine flu where a man who returned from a trip to Mexico last week was found to have the virus.

Swine flu is a respiratory sickness, caused by influenza type A which infects pigs. There are many types, and the infection is continuously changing. Until now it has not in general infected humans, but the latest form clearly does, and can be multiply from person to person - possibly through coughing and sneezing.

Flu viruses mutate over time sourcing small changes to proteins on their surface entitled antigens. If the immune system has met exacting strain of the virus before it is likely to have some immunity; but if the antigens are novel to the immune system, it will be weakened. The flu at present making headlines is a strain of H1N1 influenza ‘A' virus, which influences birds, some mammals and human.

The epidemic has snowballed into a huge headache for Mexico, already struggling with a cruel drug war and economic slowdown, and has quickly become one of the biggest world health scares in years. Mexico's tourism and retail sectors could be terribly hit. A new pandemic would deal a main blow to a global economy already suffering its worst recession in decades. In New Zealand, 10 students from an Auckland School party that had returned from Mexico were being considered for influenza symptoms in what health establishments said was a likely case of swine flu, although they added none was critically ill.

The WHO has established that at least some of the human cases are a never-before-seen report of the H1N1 strain of influenza type ‘A'. H1N1 is the similar strain which causes seasonal outbreaks of flu in humans on a regular basis. But this latest version of H1N1 is dissimilar: it holds genetic material that is characteristically found in strains of the virus that influence humans, birds and swine. Flu viruses have the ability to change genetic components with each other, and it appears likely that the new version of H1N1 resulted from a combination of different versions of the virus, which may usually affect different species, in the alike animal host. Pigs give an tremendous 'melting pot' for these viruses to mix and match with each other.

Indications of swine flu in humans emerge to be similar to those produced by standard, seasonal flu. These consist of fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills and fatigue. Most cases so far reported around the world seem to be mild, but in Mexico, lives have been lost.

While all the casualties so far have been in Mexico, the flu is dispersal in the US. Eleven cases were confirmed in California, Kansas and Texas, and eight school children in New York City caught a type ‘A' influenza virus that health officials say is likely to be the swine flu. The new flu strain, a mixture of various swine, bird and human viruses, posses the biggest risk of a large scale pandemic since avian flu surfaced in 1997, killing several hundred people. A 1968 "Hong kong" flu pandemic slaughtered about a million people globally. Now flu stains can spread quickly because no one has natural immunity to them and a vaccine takes months to develop.

When any new strain of flu surfaces that gains the capability to pass from person to person, it is observed very closely in case it has the capability to spark a global epidemic, or pandemic. The World Health Organization has cautioned that taken together the Mexican and US cases could potentially trigger an international pandemic, and stress that the situation is grave. On the other hand, experts say it is still too early to precisely measure the situation fully. Currently, the specialists say the world is nearer to a flu pandemic than at any point since 1968 - rating the danger at four on a six-point scale.

No one knows the full probable impact of a pandemic, but experts have cautioned that it could cost millions of lives worldwide. The earlier Spanish flu pandemic, which started in 1918, and was also produced by an H1N1 strain, killed millions of people.

The reality that all the cases in the US and elsewhere have so far formed mild symptoms is encouraging. It advocates that the sternness of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an abnormal geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus distributing in the community - which would be doubtfully to come into play in the rest of the world.

The virus come into view already to have started to proliferate around the world, and most experts believe that control of the virus in the era of readily accessible air travel will be really difficult.

The US establishments say that two drugs commonly used to treat flu, Tamiflu and Relenza, seem to be efficient at treating cases that have happened there so far. However, the drugs must be dispensed at an early stage to be successful.

Utilize these drugs may also make it less likely that contaminated people will pass the virus on to others.

The UK Government already has a supply of Tamiflu, ordered as a precaution against a pandemic.

It is uncertain how efficient currently available flu vaccines would be at offering defense against the new strain, as it is genetically different from other flu strains.

US scientists are already developing a modified new vaccine, but it may take some time to perfect it, and produce enough supplies to meet what could be huge demand.

A vaccine was used to defend humans from a version of swine flu in the US in 1976.

However, it caused grave side effects, as well as an estimated 500 cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome. There were more demises from the vaccine than the outbreak.

Avoid close connection with people who seem unwell and who have fever and cough.

General infection management practices and good hygiene can help to decrease transmission of all viruses, including the human swine influenza. This is consists of covering your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible and disposing of it quickly.

It is also significant to wash your hands regularly with soap and water to reduce the spread of the virus from your hands to face or to other people and cleaning hard surfaces like door handles repeatedly using a normal cleaning product.

If caring for some patient with a flu-like illness, a mask can be worn to cover the nose and mouth to lessen the risk of transmission. The UK is looking at escalating its stockpile of masks for healthcare employees for this reason.

But experts say there is no scientific proof to support more general wearing of masks to safeguard against infections.

Anyone with flu-like indications who might have been in dealing with the swine virus - such as those living or travelling in the areas of Mexico that have been affected - should get medical advice.

But the patients are being asked not to go into doctor's surgeries in order to minimize the danger of distributing the disease to others. Instead, they should stay at their house and call their healthcare provider for advice.

Although the Foreign and Commonwealth Office says people "should be aware" of the epidemic, it is not at present advising people against travelling to affected areas of Mexico and the US.

These days it's not just passport and visas that's on the mind of those travelling abroad, but most of them are also supporting themselves with surgical masks to defend themselves from the swine flu that is fast scattering across the world. Prospective travelers and companies are seeking specific medical stores in the city to procure these surgical masks. This is not the first time such a extensive spread fear of infection has surrounded the world. Six years ago the defensive masks were on huge demand to avert the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acquired Respiratory Syndrome). N-95 type masks that were on sales six years ago are at present a huge demand. There is a 40 per cent raise in sales for the masks. Best part of the customers are those who travelling abroad.

An official from Air India working in the Chennai airport says that though medical professionals say the flu cannot reach in a hot place like Chennai, we are leaving no stone unturned to counter the condition using surgical masks. We also make it obligatory for passengers to carry them while travelling.