Flu information
What is the u?
The u (inuenza) is an infection of the nose,throat, and lungs caused by inuenza viruses. Fluviruses cause illness, hospital stays and deathsin the United States each year. There are manydifferent u viruses and sometimes a new u virusemerges to make people sick.
What is novel H1N1 u?
Novel H1N1 u is a new and very differentinuenza virus that is spreading worldwide amongpeople. This new virus was called “swine u” atrst because it has pieces of u viruses found inpigs in the past. However, novel H1N1 virus hasnot been detected in U.S. pigs.Inuenza is unpredictable, but scientists believethat the new H1N1 virus will cause illness, hospitalstays and deaths in the United States over thecoming months.This u season, the new virus maycause a lot more people to get sick than during aregular u season. It also may cause more hospitalstays and deaths than seasonal u.
How serious is the u?
The u can be very serious, especially for youngerchildren and children of any age who have one ormore chronic medical conditions. These conditionsinclude asthma or other lung problems, diabetes,weakened immune systems, kidney disease, heartproblems and neurological and neuromusculardisorders. These conditions can result in moresevere illness from inuenza, including the newH1N1 virus.
How doe
s u spread?
Both novel H1N1 u and seasonal u are thoughtto spread mostly from person to person throughthe coughs and sneezes of people who are sickwith inuenza. People also may get sick by touchingsomething with u viruses on it and then touchingtheir mouth or nose.
What are the symptoms of the u?
Symptoms of seasonal u and novel H1N1 uinclude fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffynose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.Some people also may have vomiting and diarrhea.
How long can a sick personspread the u to others?
People infected with seasonal and novel H1N1 ushed virus and may be able to infect others from 1day before getting sick to 5 to 7 days after. Thiscan be longer in some people, especially childrenand people with weakened immune systems and inpeople infected with novel H1N1 u.
Protect your child
How can I protect my childagainst u?
Get a seasonal u vaccine for yourself and yourchild to protect against seasonal u viruses.Take everyday steps to prevent the spread of allu viruses. This includes:Cover your nose and mo
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uth with a tissuewhen you cough or sneeze. Throw thetissue in the trash after you use it.Wash your hands often with soap and
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water, especially after you cough orsneeze. If soap and water are notavailable, alcohol-based hand cleaners arealso effective.
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Avoid touching your eyes, nose and
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mouth. Germs spread this way.Teach your child to take these actions
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too.Try to keep your child from having close
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contact (about 6 feet) with sick people,includinganyone in the household who issick.Keep surfaces like bedside tables,
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surfaces in the bathroom, kitchencounters and toys for children cleanby wiping them down with a householddisinfectant according to directions onthe product label.Throw away tissues and other disposable
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items used by sick persons in yourhousehold in the trash.
Is there a vaccine to
protect my child from H1N1 u?
A vaccine against novel H1N1 u is beingproduced and will be available in the comingmonths as an option for the prevention of thenew H1N1 u. A vaccine against seasonal u isavailable each fall and winter. More informationabout the new H1N1 u vaccine and the seasonalu vaccine is available on the CDC Web site.
Is there medicine to treat
the u?
Antiviral drugs can treat both seasonal u andthe new H1N1 u. These drugs can make peoplefeel better and get better sooner. But theyneed to be prescribed by a doctor and theywork best when started during the rst 2 daysof illness. These drugs can be given to children.
The priority use for these drugs is to treatpeople who are seriously ill or who have a medicalcondition that puts them at high risk of seriousu complications.
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