
The current vaccine against flu can protect you from the swine flu as well.
Three people have been diagnosed with the swine flu. Among the three patients that are currently under treatment at the Wexford General Hospital is a pregnant woman as well. The pregnant woman is currently responding to the treatment and is slowly recovering after being under intensive care. As these cases have been reported, the health officials are urging the people in the United States to get vaccinated against the swine flu.
According to Doctor Darina O’ Flanagan, who is the head of the Health Protection Surveillance Center, the flu vaccine that is currently available on the market offers great protection against the swine flu. This comes as a relief, since in 2009 there was a swine flu outbreak, but no vaccine that could protect against it. She also said that the flu levels among which is also the B strain of the virus will continue to increase and most likely will continue to last between four and five weeks more. You should get vaccinated as soon as possible, as the effect of the vaccine takes between 10 and 14 days to be efficient.
During the flu season this winter, seven people have died because of the flu. After the three persons were hospitalized, a spokesman from the Wexford General Hospital said that even though the three persons had to remain at the hospital after being diagnosed, most people who get infected with the virus do not require hospitalization. He also added that people shouldn’t worry because there is no flu outbreak at Wexford General and until now no patient got the virus in that place.
The first patient that got hospitalized for swine flu was admitted last week. The second patient was brought from Wexford town to the hospital by an ambulance. The persons who are at great risk from the swine flu are the children under two years old and the pregnant women. During the pregnancy, the women have higher chances of developing all sorts of complications, since their immune system is suppressed naturally. Among these complications can be dehydration, difficulty breathing and pneumonia. The complications can occur after the woman has been pregnant longer than 27 weeks or two weeks after the baby was born.
Until now, 219 people have been hospitalized because of the flu, and among these there were 88 people who were there because of the swine flu. Of them,11 people underwent critical care. Among the symptoms of the swine flu are tiredness, sudden high fever, joint pain, aching muscles and headaches. As three people have been diagnosed with the swine flu recently, make sure to check for symptoms and get vaccinated before it is too late.
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