Symptoms
- H1N1 symptoms are similar to those of the seasonal flu viruses, such as fever, cough, headache, body aches, sore throat, runny nose, chills and fatigue (3).
- A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting (3).
- Severe illnesses and death did occur as a result of illness associated with this virus (3).
Diagnosis
You would not know the difference between the seasonal flu and H1N1 without medical help.
To diagnose, a respiratory specimen would need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness, when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus (5).
To diagnose, a respiratory specimen would need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness, when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus (5).
The following table describes the case definitions used for diagnosis:
Treatment
Anti-viral Medication:
- Oseltamivir and Zanamivir are effective in most cases (3).
- The CDC recommends those drugs to prevent or treat swine flu. The drugs are most effective when taken within 48 hours of the start of flu symptoms, but not everyone needs those drugs. Most people who have come down with H1N1 flu recovered without treatment.
- Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) - comes as a capsule and a suspension (liquid) to take by mouth; used to treat some types of influenza infection ('flu') in adults, children, and infants (older than 2 weeks of age) who have had symptoms of the flu for no longer than 2 days; helps shorten the time that flu symptoms such as a stuffy or runny nose, sore throat, cough, muscle or joint aches, tiredness, headache, fever, and chills (7).
- H1N1 has shown resistance other other drugs, such as Amantadine and Rimantadine (3).