H1N1 infection (Swine Flue)
(In other pages -
How Homeopathy was effective and Some reasonable
doubts and questions about the false panic of Bird flu)
Introduction
Spread of swine flu
Treatment available for swine
Control measures in swine
Clinical picture in infected humans
Treatment
What to do and not to do?
Why there is so much concern and why there is no need to
panic?
Technical aspects of H1N1 Influenza
Conclusion
Introduction
H1N1 infection,
or "Swine flu" (as it is wrongly quoted), is a contagious disease of animals
especially pigs, caused by particular strains of influenza viruses. They
normally infect only swine and less commonly, cats, birds etc. also. While all
swine species are thought to be susceptible to infection, domestic and farmed
pigs are especially vulnerable to infections that can rapidly reach epidemic
proportions. Another interesting factor is that Wild swine worldwide
carry the viruses in their intestines, but usually do not get sick from them and
it causes symptoms and death mostly in domesticated ones only. And when they
start affecting the said domesticated pigs it is rapidly contagious and very
often highly fatal.
Spread
of swine flu
As mentioned the spread is mostly from pigs to pigs. Infected pigs shed flu
virus in their saliva, nasal secretions, and feces. When susceptible pigs have
contact with contaminated excretions or surfaces that are contaminated with
excretions they become infected. Humans get infected when they are in intimate
contact with infected swine or contaminated surfaces with virus.
Human to human spread (that is spread from one infected human to another one through sneezing coughing or direct contact etc.) was considered less possible. But recently the present infection started with a purportedly mutated virus and human to human infection seems to be spreading Also the one who got it from an infected human seems to cause another second generation of human infections. This is the reason for the present panic and the WHO being declaring it a pandemic.
Treatment available for swine
There are two aspects to this. One- there are no rapid, massive and effective
treatment modalities in conventional medicine for swine. Second far more
importance is given to the spread of illness to human that swine are considered
better controlled (for how is it done see below) than treated. For a healthy
alternative click here.
Control measures in
swine
First and most
important control measure is rapid destruction (called “culling” or “stamping
out”) of all infected or exposed swine and proper disposal of carcasses. Some
times tens of thousands of swine are extinguished like this. Proper quarantining
and rigorous disinfection of farms are also necessary. Movement restrictions for
live animals as in trade are another important control measure. This is implied
both within and between countries to be effective. Vaccination of swine is also
sought out.
For disinfection heating (56 degrees C for 3 hours or 60 degrees C for 30 minutes) is best. Common disinfectants, such as formalin and iodine compounds are also found to be working.
The virus survive, at cool temperatures like in contaminated manure for at least three months. It can survive for up to four days in water, at 22 degrees C and more than 30 days at 0 degrees C. The virulence of the highly pathogenic form is much high that a single gram of contaminated manure can contain enough virus to infect thousands of pigs.
Clinical picture in infected humans
From the
available data it appears that patients developed symptoms ranged from typical
flu-like symptoms such as fever, severe sore throat, cough, muscle aches,
congested eyes, and in several of the fatal cases severe respiratory distress
secondary to viral pneumonia and other complications.
Even though it looks like a common influenza the
effectiveness of conventional treatment is in doubt due to several factors.
Common antiviral drugs even though clinically effective against influenza A
virus strains in otherwise healthy adults and children, have some limitations in
swine flu. Also they have some undesirable side effects and some of these are
much expensive and supplies are limited.
About vaccines even though experience
with influenza vaccines is considerable, it is to be noted that vaccine
composition changes each year to match changes in circulating virus due to
antigenic drift. And at least four months is needed to produce a new vaccine, in
significant quantities, capable of conferring protection against a new virus
subtype.
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Diagnosis
Specific diagnostic tests are those for diagnosing all influenza strains of
animals and humans. These are rapid and reliable as it takes less than six ours
for the test. But the testing centers are limited in number. Also in a situation
like an epidemic or pandemic many samples arrive in a short time so that the
time required to delivers results can take up to four five days.
Treatment
It is evident that conventional treatment is not much effective
in flu epidemics or
pandemics.
Homeopathy offers a much effective treatment against viral infections in general. Also it offers complete cure in almost all infectious illness if there is not much destruction of tissues that is in cases other than advanced pathological changes. It is of greater importance that as homeopathy can start effective treatment based on symptomatology one can start the damage control much earlier before actual diagnosis of swine flu. The only problem being many a cases of possible swine flue (or any other grave or answerless illness) will be completely cured without there is a chance for proper diagnosis and recording the credit to the account of homeopathy. But no good homeopath needs credit but relief to suffering human.
Another important help homeopathy can do is in the treatment of infected swine. It is well proven in many countries that veterinary homeopathy is much more effective. A similar form of flue in birds is being treated very well by homeopathic remedies in India for so long. Ayurveda also offers good effective treatment for both mammalian, avian and human variety of flu. Similar to homeopathy highly effective simple Ayurvedic preparation are in use for animal flu in India for generations.
The important drugs in homeopathy that are indicated in swine flu
include the following
Aconite, Arnica, Arsenicum alb., Belladonna,
Bryonia, Eupatorium per., Hepar sulph.,
Gelsemium, Kali bich., Mercurius, Nux
vomica, Pulsatilla, Phosphorus,
Rhustox, Sulphur etc. Out of these
Phosphorus, Arsenicum
alb, Pulsatilla, Bryonia and Rhus. tox. are
the first line of remedies indicated for the present infection.
It will be reassuring to know that in each season millions of people benefit
from homeopathic remedies for influenza, all over the world. And the mortality
rate is anything below 0.5% (if at all there is any)! Besides if you are taking
homeopathic remedies for flu you will experience a faster cure (see below),
saving millions of days of manpower in addition to money and mental tension.
If you take Antipyretic drugs (like Paracetamol) the temperature comes down
within 30 minutes and shot up again after 4-5 hours. This lasts for about
three-four days (in some cases up to seven-ten days). At the end of which you
are free from illness but very tired and will have a bad stomach too. Under
homeopathic medication the temperature will loose its intensity within two/three
hours and decrease gradually to baseline within two days the maximum. On the
second/third day you are free from illness and also fresh almost to pre-flu
days!
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What to do and not to do?
(Prophylaxis).
For common public
Avoid
direct contact with wild and/or domestic swine. Take particular care in regions
where bird flue is reported. Take care to avoid drinking contaminated water. For
this the general precaution of safe food/drink habits is enough. Those who are
on trekking or wild life safari should keep in mind the contaminated water
sources and make provisions for adequate drinking water with them. For those who
have back yard poultry farms proper care should be taken in keeping the coup and
surroundings clean. Special attention should be paid to disinfect water and
feeding pots thoroughly and routinely. Seek advice of your veterinarian
immediately on sighting of any signs of illness in the birds and act
accordingly.
For commercial farmers
Besides the
above measures routine large scale disinfection of the farm is the first step.
Proper disposal of droppings and other waste product is also of much importance.
In case of any culling dispose of the carcasses also in proper manner. Take
particular care to identify early signs of infection in birds and avoid spread
to other birds.
For all people
When any symptoms of flu or viral fever are
seen in any one please do not panic. Instead go to your family doctor and get
the proper treatment. If the family doctor is a homeopath it is far better.
Always remember to make sure the treatment is not causing more harm than the
illness.
Why there is so much concern and
why there is no
need to panic?
The 'Swine Flu'
is almost similar to the bird flu threatened to make human species extinct
two-three years ago. Swine flu out break is reported possibly from Mexico in
April 2009. Cases were mostly confined to American continent (North and South)
and some part of Europe. In fact similar cases were also reported from china and
Far East earlier and the same went down without much trouble. Lately H1N1 was
declared a true pandemic by WHO as cases are reported from most of the
continents. But of late the number of new cases being reported on a daily basis
is becoming less and less with a few infrequent deaths here and there (As of 11th
June 2010 about 18156 deaths* are reported supposedly from H1N1 infection).
Click here for
an update of statistics on H1N1 influenza.
The recent heightened concern is for many reasons. The present out break of H1N1
strain is said to be a mutant virus. It is strongly believed that this strain
has a unique capacity to jump the species barrier and cause severe disease, with
high mortality, in humans and is causing a pandemic as explained below.
It is known that animal and human influenza viruses can exchange genes when a
person is simultaneously infected with viruses from both species. By this
process of gene swapping inside the human body a completely new subtype of the
influenza virus can be developed. This mutant virus has the advantage that
humans would not have the natural immunity against them as they are entirely
new. Also existing vaccines too would not be effective against a completely new
influenza virus as these vaccines need to be changed each year to match the
present circulating strains as said above. Finally when the new virus contains
sufficient human genes making it capable to transmit directly from one human
being to another (rather than from pigs to humans) the conditions for the start
of a new influenza pandemic will be created. This assumption attains
significance in the light of the great influenza pandemic of 1918–1919, when a
completely new influenza virus subtype emerged and spread around the globe, in
around 4 to 6 months. Several waves of infection occurred over 2 years, killing
an estimated 40–50 million persons.
But as said these are all only possibilities and not yet realised.
And like the repeated ‘dooms days’ predicted by many cults who worship ‘end of
the world’ none materialized so far. See that from April
2009 till date (20th November 2009) only 526060
confirmed cases of human
swine flu infections are reported and out of them only 6770 causalities are
there. Also note that despite the estimated and predicted toll of millions of
death the dreaded SARS caused less than a thousand deaths in all! Another influenza
epidemic (bird flu) predicted so much casualty two years back also failed to
deliver that 'promise'!
Another notable point of argument is this. If there is any chance of the virus
mutating to a 'super virus' as expected there is also almost an equal chance of
human body getting immunity against it within a short time.
This does not mean that we can altogether neglect this threat. But simple precautionary measures by all of us itself can curb this to the reasonable rate and avoid so much death and discomfort.
Another very important reason
for the increased alarm is that in viral infections especially in those of
epidemic and pandemic proportions the rate of fatality is high whether it is a
new subtype or an old one. On closer examination it will become clear that this
is in fact due to the wrong selection of drugs and treatment mode
including over dosage. As for example it is well proven that
‘Paracetamol’ the most freely used antipyretic can cause sever platelet
depletion amounting to death. Ironically that is the single most used agent in
any type of flu world over. Another culprit is ‘Antibiotics’ which can cause
serious liver and kidney damage if used indiscriminately. These are also freely
employed in epidemics and pandemics of flu. Also to be noted is the fact that in
any such situations the panic stricken public consumes heavy doses and dangerous
amounts of these drugs as many of them are available as OTC (legally or not) in
many parts of the world. Interestingly the author has witnessed requests by
learned GPs containing two different brands of Paracetamol preparations in high
doses and two different types of Antibiotics in a single prescription! This may
also happen due to the high pressure GPs are submitted when flocks of public is
crowding to OPDs with simple fever and some of them are falling dead. But sadly
this practice will only add to the fatality number and there by the panic index
of public. Another bad thing is that the proper procedure- ‘the Antiviral’
agents are costly, have many side effects and not always available in massive
quantities.
It should be noted that still this is only a bit stronger version of common influenza. This cannot and would not kill anyone if they take adequate rest, plenty of water, and simple medicines. Also note that in almost all the death cases the individual was having previous chronic and/or debilitating diseases like pneumonia, diabetes, hypertension etc. Also all of these patients were under allopathic treatment and care. This means they obviously took Paracetamol, Antibiotics and other strong drugs. Without doubt one can say that these may contribute to the cause of death. On the other hand if one calculate by theory of probability there can be thousands of people in the open who are affected with the same virus with varying levels of symptoms but not officially detected and/or quarantined. This is because of the simple fact that common people will not go to a doctor for influenza but will resort to home/country/traditional medicines. Most of these people will survive without any injury too. These people may give infection to a multitude of others too. If this is such a super virus as described there should be a real catastrophe long before. This again point to the need for pacifying any panic among common public (to prevent a catastrophe of death and disability from fear and the resulting over consumption of unnecessary drugs.
Technical aspects of Avian
Influenza
There are many
types of Flu viruses. Of which type A is the cause for avian flue. Even among
this there are several different subtypes depending upon their hemagglutinin [H]
and neuraminidase [N] proteins contents. There are 16 different H subtypes and 9
different N subtypes of flu A viruses. So, many different combinations of these
are possible and each combination is a different subtype. Like H1N1, H1N2, H5N3
etc.) Even though all subtypes of flu A viruses can be found in animals the
“swine flu” in question is caused by only one subtype i.e. H1N1. This particular
strain as said above is a bit dangerous. Even that does not cause a 'pandemic'
because ordinarily it cannot cause infection from human to human. For this a
peculiar type of "super virus" need to be born by a series of cross infections
which are extremely unlikely.
The spread within and between countries
Farm to farm spread within a country is much easy as large amounts of virus
are secreted in animal droppings, contaminating dust and soil. Airborne virus
can spread the disease from animal to animal. Besides contaminated equipment,
vehicles, feed, cages or clothing – especially shoes – can carry the virus from
farm to farm. The virus can also be carried on the feet and bodies of animals,
such as rodents, which act as “mechanical vectors” for spreading the disease.
Another agent capable of spreading the virus is wind. Strong wind can disperse
the virus over large areas in short time. Limited evidence suggests that flies
can also act as mechanical vectors.
Droppings and secretions from infected wild pigs may introduce the virus into both commercial and backyard swine farms. The risk that infection will be transmitted from wild pigs to domestic ones is greatest where domestic swine roam freely, share a common water supply with wild ones, or use a water supply that might become contaminated by droppings or secretions from infected wild-swine carriers. Also “wet” markets, where live animals are sold under crowded and sometimes unsanitary conditions, can be another source of spread. The disease can also spread from country to country through international trade in live swine.
Conclusion
Animal influenza is a common illness seen for ages in wild and domestic animals
including swine birds. It attains massive proportions and occasionally may cause
human infection due to carelessness from the part of humans itself. Spreading
frightening theories and the panic stricken public resorting to extreme measures
are the main cause of fatality in almost all cases. With a little common sense
and care we can curb another pandemic as easily as it has started. As learned
men we owe at least that much to the humanity.
The pig’s tail!
It was supposed
that Swine flu infection occur in persons who are in direct exposure to
pigs (e.g. children coming near pigs at a farm or a fair, workers in the
swine/pork industry etc.). The preventive measure and other management
strategies are also similar to bird flu with the added consideration of swine or
pig also in the picture. But later on reports came out that Swine flu is not
detected among any of the swine-
domestic, farmed or wild. So WHO requested every one to stop calling it Swine
flu and rechristened it to H1N1 flue. So currently the correct terminology used
for this is H1N1 fever.
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Compiled by Dr.
Abdul Gafar
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* According to WHO
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