Karishma Kulkarni, Nikhil Thatte, Rucha Shelgikar, Ira Shah
medical Sciences Department, Pediatric Oncall
Address For Correspondance: Dr Ira Shah, Editor- Pediatric Oncall, 1/B Saguna, 271/B St. Francis Road, Vile Parle (W), Mumbai 400056. Email: info@pediatriconcall.com
Can I get swine flu by eating outside?
Flu viruses are spread mainly from person to person through coughing or sneezing by people with influenza. Sometimes people may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose. Eating the food outside cannot cause swine flu. However, exposure to people who are sick and who have been in contact with your food articles and plates and tables etc. can be responsible for contracting swine flu.
If someone in my child's school gets swine flu should I test my child even if he/she is normal?
No. There is no necessity to get your child tested unless he/she is down with flu and has any of the risk factors, or has any of the following symptoms:
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Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath |
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Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen |
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Sudden dizziness |
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Confusion |
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Severe or persistent vomiting |
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Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough |
Can I get swine flu by going to the public swimming pool?
There is no increase in the risk of getting swine flu by going to public swimming pools. The risk is the same as getting it through droplet infection at any other public places.
How was swine flu controlled in Mexico?
In March and April 2009, an outbreak of a new strain of influenza commonly referred to as "swine flu" infected many people in Mexico. Initial reports suggested that the outbreak had started in February due to farming practices at a pig farm half-owned by Smithfield Foods, though the authorities at the farm refuted this claim.
After a month since the first atypical pneumonia cases were detected, the Mexican government responded and established some measures in Mexico City and other places, where the swine flu had spread, to decrease the risk of more infections. Hundreds of soldiers and police officers mobilized by the government have handed out six million surgical masks to citizens in and around Mexico City. On 24 April 2009, schools (from pre-school to university level) as well as libraries, museums, concerts and any public gathering place, were shut down by the government in Mexico City and the neighboring State of Mexico to prevent the disease from spreading further. The mayor of mexico also asked all night-life facilities operators to shut down their places for ten days to prevent further infections. On 25 April, the Mexican President declared an emergency which granted him the power to suspend public events and order quarantines. Soon all schools and classes were closed down throughout Mexico and quarantine system in airports, central bus stations were established. Observation points mainly in the southern part of the state at the nearest highways to the borders with other states were set up, in order to realize tests conducted on people arriving from other states. On 27 April, the Health Secretary announced that schools of all levels throughout the nation will be suspended until May 6 in order to prevent the spread of the flu. Slowly the number of fresh cases started decreasing. This is the Mexico model of controlling swine flu.
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