Swine Flu Epidemic and Human Transmission

Swine flu epidemic can be transmitted by direct contact between pigs. In the acute stages of the disease, high concentrations of virus are found in nasal secretions. The virus is usually transmitted by aerosols over a short distance. The disease is spread to new areas and farms by the movement of infected pigs or human carriers of the disease.

Those people who routinely come in contact with pigs are more likely to become the victim of swine flu as compared to the general population. According to research, it has been found that pig farmers had a sharply higher level of exposure to animal virus than control groups. Therefore protection of agricultural workers is a must as they could amplify influenza transmission among humans and domestic animals during a pandemic and cause considerable damage to the human species.

Pigs can be infected by swine viruses, bird (avian) viruses as well as human flu viruses therefore it acts as a mixing bowl especially on farms where pigs, chickens and people coexist. Therefore, occurrence of potential swine flu is a prime public health concern. Pigs often play a role in transmitting influenza virus to humans therefore so it's a big cause of concern as for a pig to become simultaneously infected with both a human and an avian influenza virus, genes from these viruses could reassemble into a new type of virus that could be transmitted and cause disease in people.

Occupational exposure to pigs significantly increases the risk of developing swine influenza infection. Agricultural workers should, therefore, be considered in developing flu pandemic surveillance plans and antiviral and immunization strategies for preventing the occurrence of swine flu. In case migratory birds introduce the H5N1 bird flu virus into swine or poultry populations in a country then agricultural workers may be at a much greater risk of developing a variant H5N1 and passing it along to non-agricultural workers or the general population.

Swine influenza infections generally produce mild or no symptoms in both pigs and humans but in some cases it can be severe and life threatening. Therefore to control this ailment, crowded conditions coupled with the constant introduction of young pigs to existing herds should be avoided as it makes swine flu infections among pigs a year-round occurrence rather than the seasonal which they originally were.