Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I know whether I am suffering from flu?
A: It is very difficult to distinguish the flu from other viral or bacterial causes of respiratory illnesses on the basis of symptoms alone. A test can confirm that an illness is influenza if the patient is tested within the first 2-3 days after symptoms begin. In addition, a doctor’s exam may be needed to determine whether a person has another infection that is a complication of influenza.

Q: How soon will I get sick if I am exposed to the flu?
A: The time from when a person is exposed to flu virus to when symptoms begin is about 1-4 days, with an average of about 2 days.

Q: How long is a person with flu virus contagious?
A: The period when an infected person is contagious depends on the age of the person. Adults may be contagious from 1 day prior to becoming sick and for 3-7 days after they first develop symptoms. Some children may be contagious for longer than a week.

Q: What can I do to protect myself against the flu?
A: By far, the single best way to prevent the flu is for individuals, especially persons at high risk for serious complications from the flu, to get a flu shot each fall.

Q: Who should get a flu shot?
A: The most important groups of persons who should get flu shots are those who are at highest risk for developing serious complications from the flu. See: Influenza (flu) Immunization.

Q: Can antiviral drugs cure the flu?
A: Not exactly. When started within the first 2 days of illness, they can reduce the duration of the disease but cannot cure it outright. Four different antiviral drugs (amantadine, rimantadine, zanamivir, and oseltamivir) have been approved for treating the flu. All four drugs can reduce the duration of flu by about 1 day if taken within 2 days of when symptoms begin.

Q: Do other respiratory viruses circulate during the flu season?
A: In addition to the flu virus, several other respiratory viruses also can circulate during the flu season and can cause symptoms and illness similar to those seen with flu infection. These non-flu viruses include rhinovirus (one cause of the “common cold”) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which is the most common cause of severe respiratory illness in young children.

Q: What is bird flu?
A: Bird flu - known technically as avian influenza - is a highly contagious viral disease affecting mostly chickens, ducks, turkeys, quails and other birds, and was first identified more than 100 years ago.

It can be caused by any one of about 20 different strains of the influenza virus. The recent outbreaks in Asia, however, have been largely caused by a highly contagious and virulent strain, known as H5N1. (The name H5N1 refers to the specific nature of two proteins, haemagglutinin and neuraminidase, found on the surface of the virus.)

Q: Is bird flu a threat to humans?
A: The Asian bird flu outbreaks have been caused by a strain of influenza A called H5N1. At present, H5N1 is only slightly infectious to humans and cannot be transmitted from one human to another. However, experts fear H5N1 may evolve into a virus that could be transferred among humans. This, they say, could lead to the first flu pandemic of the 21st century.

Q: Can bird flu be treated?
A: The bird flu virus responsible for the recent outbreaks in Asia has been found to be resistant to the two oldest and cheapest flu drugs available, namely rimantidine and amantidine. However, researchers with Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation claim that flu drugs Relenza (zanamivir) and Tamiflu (oseltamivir) are effective treatments against the disease.

Q: What is the difference between bird flu and SARS?
A: Both bird flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) are respiratory diseases, and both have caused widespread epidemics in Asia in previous years. Both diseases are also zoonoses, meaning they originate in animals but are transferred to humans.

But while the media coverage of the bird flu and SARS epidemics has made it easy to confuse the two, SARS and bird flu are very different. Bird flu is caused by influenza viruses, similar to those that cause human flu. In contrast, SARS is caused by a previously unknown type of 'coronavirus', the same family of viruses as that which causes the common cold. Also, the SARS virus is highly dangerous to humans, whereas at present, the bird flu viruses are not.

Q: What is Tamiflu used for?
A: Tamiflu is used for treating adults, adolescents, and pediatric patients 1year of age and older suffering with the flu whose flu symptoms started within the last day or two. Tamiflu is also used to reduce the chance of getting the flu in people age 13 and older who have a higher chance of getting the flu because they spend time with someone who has the flu.