1. Swine Flu (H1N1) FAQ Slideshow Pictures
2. Strep or Sore Throat Slideshow Pictures
3. Flu Fighter Foods Slideshow Pictures

Medical Author:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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Medical Editor:

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, Chief Medical Editor

Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.

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Swine influenza (novel H1N1) spreads from person to person, either by inhaling the virus or by touching surfaces contaminated with the virus, then touching the mouth or nose. Infected droplets are expelled into the air through coughing or sneezing.

Research suggested that swine influenza is about as contagious as the usual human influenza. If one person in a household gets swine flu, anywhere from 8%-19% of household contacts likely will get infected. Reports from the southern hemisphere suggest that swine influenza caused slightly more infections than would be normal for an influenza season.

However, the newest swine flu virus, H3H2v, is not being spread very easily from human to human. The majority of infections to date (August 2012) occurred as a result of the swine virus H3N2v being transmitted directly from pigs to humans, since most of the reported infected people were associated with pig farms or state fairs with pigs as predominant competition entries. However, the CDC is concerned because this situation could easily change if H3N2v acquires genes that allow easy viral transmission between humans.

Must Read Articles Related to Swine Flu

Coughs A cough is a symptom of an underlying disease or condition. A chronic or persistent cough may signal certain lung conditions that should be evaluated by a healt...learn more >>

Fever in Adults A fever is a body temperature of 100.4 F or greater. A fever may be caused by a virus, bacteria, fungus, blood clot, tumor, drug, or the environment. Treatment ...learn more >>

Fever in Children Fever is defined as a rectal temperature over 100.4 F or 38.0 C. Fever isn't life-threatening unless it is persistently high -- greater than 107 F rectal temper...learn more >>

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