Bird Flu: Bird Flu or Avian influenza is a disease whose causative agent is H5N1 virus, which is carried by animals especially Birds. It is characterized by rapid spread and sudden death. The outbreak of avian influenza of most concern - H5N1 - began in poultry in South Korea in mid-December 2003, and has affected birds in many countries in Asia, Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Difference between Swine flu and Bird flu:
1.Swine flu spreads quickly as comparison to Bird Flu, but casualty rate not much high. Bird flu spreads very slowly, but has a high casualty rate.
2. The bird flu virus affects all systems of human body, but the swine flu virus affects only the respiratory system.
3. The main symptoms of swine influenza are vomiting and diarrhea. Apart from cough, fever, sore throat bird flu patients suffer from eye infections, pneumonia, and other severe problems.
4. Bird flu is transmitted by direct contact with birds, their excretory products contaminated by infected people. Where as swine flu is transmitted from direct contact with pigs, waste matter contaminated by infected people.
5. Pregnant women, persons with chronic medical conditions are most vulnerable target for swine influenza, Small children and rural workers are soft target to get infected from Bird flu.
6. If your dear one is infected by swine influenza make sure they stay at home, cover their nose and mouth when they cough, make them wash their hands often. In bird flu covering his/her nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue when possible; avoiding travel and large crowds whenever possible; maintaining good basic hygiene, using a normal cleaning product; making sure your children follow this advice.

About H1N1 vaccines:
The most important feature of the H1N1 vaccines manufacturing process is the 1,200,000,000 chicken eggs required to make the 3 billion doses of H1N1 vaccines that maybe required worldwide. The entire chicken farms around the world are been dedicated to producing eggs for the purpose of incubating influenza viruses in the chicken eggs for use in H1N1 vaccines. It takes at least six months from initial to its end process. But no wonders we’ll try and get that in a minute for preparing are H1N1 flu Vaccines. Commonly used process for producing an influenza vaccine was developed in the 1940s. Its co-inventors was Jonas Salk, who has develop the polio vaccine which has remained unchanged since then. The process is taken care by the World Health Organization and begins with the detection of a new swine flu virus Pandemic and to prepare the H1N1 vaccines. Which allows the virus to grow well in chicken eggs, then the hybrid is tested to make sure that it grows well, safe and produces proper antigen response, (Antigen is any substance that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against it.) An antigen maybe a foreign substance, from the environment as chemicals, bacteria, viruses, or pollen. An antigen may also form within the body, as with bacterial toxins or tissue cells. When the H1N1 vaccine gets inside your body, the pandemic strains surface antigens will produce antibodies against it.
The standardized kit provided to H1N1 vaccines manufacturers so that they can test how much virus they are making and how effective it is. This process serves to standardize H1N1 vaccines doses across the manufacturers and takes four months to complete its process.
Once the swine flu virus is produced, it is sent to pharmaceutical companies in different parts of the world for large-scale production of the H1N1 vaccines. The companies finds the virus to increase yields and produces seed virus banks that will be used in the bulk production to increase in chicken eggs, which is been injected into each 9 to 12 days old fertilized eggs, and this is where the 1.2 billion chicken eggs come in. The virus incubates in the egg white for two to three days and is then separated from the egg. This the process of the H1N1 vaccines.

H1N1 vaccination :
CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices has recommends that swine flu or H1N1 vaccine should first go to:
1. Pregnant women
2. Household contacts and cabdrivers for children younger than 6 months of age
3. Health care and emergency medical personnel.
4. All children and young adults from 6 months through 24 years of age, and
5. Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.
Its possible to get a seasonal flu vaccine and the swine flu or H1N1 vaccines at the same time. unless both are not the nasal spray version of the flu vaccine. Instead kids can get one as a nasal spray and one as a flu shot. kids aged nine years old and under need, two doses of the H1N1 vaccines separated by at least four weeks to get full protection against the swine flu through H1N1 vaccines. But at the same time older children, adults, need just one dose. Keep in mind that even if the child was diagnosed with swine flu, unless the diagnosis was confirmed by adverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, they should still get the H1N1 vaccines. Most the people have not had that test and simply had a rapid flu test in their doctor’s clinic or where diagnosed based on their H1N1 (Swine flu) symptoms still went for the dose of the H1N1 vaccine as ‘precaution is better than cure’,
H1N1 flu vaccines availability:
Although five companies are making H1N1 vaccines shots, including Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis, GSK, Medimmune and CSL,
Doctors are not able to directly order H1N1 vaccines from them. Instead, the federal government is purchasing all of the H1n1 vaccines shots and then is distributing H1N1 vaccines via a centralized distribution program in the country. Pediatricians and other health care providers can order H1N1 flu vaccines if they want to receive H1N1 flu vaccines to give their patients suffering from H1N1 pandemic.

H1N1 vaccination side effects / Dangers :
The FDA has approved four vaccines for the prevention of H1N1 . Recent preliminary reports from clinical trials of these H1N1 vaccines have described common H1N1 vaccination side effects / Dangers. 90% of H1N1 vaccines receivers achieved a strong immune response within three weeks, a sign that the vaccine is working. Local Side Effects/ dangers from Approved H1N1 vaccines no deaths or serious adverse events have been reported from any H1N1 vaccination. Approximately 44% of vaccine receiver has reported mild side effects within 7 days of receiving the first dose of H1N1 vaccine. 86% of the volunteers that received Novartis’s H1N1 vaccines reported adverse reactions after one or both doses the most common local side effect experienced was injection site pain. The reactions were quite mild and resolved after 72 hours. Side effects or H1N1 vaccines occurring at the location where the vaccine had been administered, include the following:

1.Tenderness
2.Pain
3.Redness
4.Hardening of skin
5.Swelling
6.Bruising
less than 1% experienced a severe adverse reaction to immunization. Severe H1N1 vaccination side effects / Dangers reported include, malaise, muscle pain, and nausea. Muscle aches were the most common side effect reported by participants receiving the H1N1 vaccines produced by Novartis, and no severe systemic side effects were reported. The following are common whole-body H1N1 vaccination side effects / Dangers occurring in response to either H1N1 vaccination.

Difference between swine flu and seasonal flu

-Seasonal flu and swine flu likely have same symptoms but in swine flu vomiting and diarrhea start in the begining stages but in Seasonal flu, it was seen in higher stages.

-Seasonal flu is cured in a week whereas Swine Flu transmitted from person to person in the same way as seasonal influenza viruses transmitted.

-Seasonal flu include sore throat, fever, headache, muscle aches, soreness, congestion and cough and in swine flu including these symptoms the patient also shows Sudden dizziness, shortness of breath, continuous vomiting.

-Generally in Seasonal flu we just have to cover nose and mouth with hanky but in swine flu it is neccessary to Wear face mask and patient is suggested to maintain distannce form others.

-Seasonal flu have a seasonal origin mostly seen in winter but swine flu occur when there is strain of h1n1 virus is present.

-Seasonal flu vaccine includes general antibiotics but swine flu vaccine have H1N1 animal virus in them.

-Seasonal flu not lethal but swine flu is lethal up to some extent.

• Limit your contact with other person or rather stay home if you are sick.
• Cover your nose and mouth while sneezing or coughing.
• Regularly wash your hands with soap and running water . Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, if you are in a public place like mall or airport etc.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Keep yourself updated with the health activities in your vicinity.
• Keep educating children about swine flu and avoid taking them to public places.

At last keep your self healthy by eating good nutritious diet, bit of exercise and living healthy life style.

Some health tips for you -
*Beetroots contains good amount of foliate, potassium and manganese. They are less in calories and are effective in curing skin problems.

*Mangoes are a very rich in potassium and is very good antioxidant.

*Adequate use of Coconuts very good for health as it have many natural antibacterial & antifsungal properties.

*Banana are very good for treating Anemia,Constipation, Blood Pressure & Depression.

*Adequate consumption of Almond can lowers cholesterol levels in body and reduces the risk of lifestyle diseases (heart attack, depression, hyper tension) and gives overall wellness.

*Oats are very good source of reducing ageing, they contains some unique fatty acids and antioxidants which slows cell damage.

*Papaya is rich in Anti-oxidants, Minerals and Fibre, it also helps in Skin Treatments.

*Walking is very good exercise .Walking on hills is good, uphill provides cardiovascular benefits and the downhill is known for reducing the blood sugar levels.

*Complex breakfast is very important for better mental health in kids. It could protect them from depression, anxiety and disobedience.

* Fat is essential to meet the daily metabolic requirements & poly-unsaturated fats are as important as carbohydrates or proteins.

*In rains bath twice a day isimportant to prevent skin infectious and inflammation or skin irruptions.

*In monsoon season, root vegetables (like radish, potatoes) and also the leafy vegetables(like spinach and cabbage) should be avoided to prevent infections related to worms etc. Grams, paneer and sprouts should be added to diet.

H1N1 virus is a subtype of influenza A virus. H1N1(also known as”swine Flu virus”) is a new influenza virus, first detected in some of the people in the USA (April 2009). This virus was spreading in the pattern similar to that of seasonal influenza. It is believed that H1N1 virus started spreading in Mexico first and than almost whole world was effected.

H1N1 Nomenclature

World Health Organization (WHO) has renamed the swineflu Virus as - influenza N1H1 virus. the name H1N1 came because of the two main proteins found in this virus, they are Hemagglutinin and Neuraminidase. These H protein (hemagglutinin) and N protein(neuraminidase) are important as they are responsible for infecting human beings. Each and every Viral strain has these H and N proteins, they are of many type and the number that follows H and N type on the strain describe there specific type. In influenza H1N1 virus they are present on 1st position. Hence the name given to them is H1N1. These two proteins are important because they are the main reason for causing infections in humans. The H protein (hemagglutinin) allows the virus to attach to human host cells and the other one i.e. N protein(neuraminidase) destroys mucous thus causing infection.

In the initial phases of outbreak this virus was called as “swine flu virus”as the lab test found that many genes of this virus are similar to swine influenza virus found in North American pigs. Later studies shows that this virus is very much different from that found in pigs. Its composition consist of genes of human, birds(avian) and pigs(swine)and so is is called “quadruple reassortant” by the scientists.

The CDC named it as - “Novel influenza A (H1N1)” and World Health Organization (WHO) named it influenza A(H1N1).

H1N1 virus was initially called ’swine flu virus’ and this outbreak was called “Swine flu” but many people and groups objected this name due to social and economical reasons related to swine or pork usiness,
therefore the name was changed by C.D.C and W.H.O.This virus is called by different names in different parts of the world - Israel & South Korea called it the “Mexican virus”. Later the South Korean press used “SI”, for “swine influenza”. Taiwan suggested the names “H1N1 flu” or “new flu”.