Newsmax.com - <b>Dr. Peter Hibberd:</b> How To Limit The Spread of Swine Flu: "Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd says we are currently “up against the wall” in treating the outbreak of swine flu because it is largely resistant to a commonly used flu drug.
Dr. Hibberd, an M.D. and board-certified emergency medicine physician, also tells Newsmax what people can do to limit the spread of the disease, which threatens to become the first worldwide influenza epidemic in nearly half a century.
Newsmax.TV’s Ashley Martella asked Dr. Hibberd what swine flu is and what are its symptoms."
See Video: Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd tells what you can do to limit the spread of swine flu - Click Here Now
“Very simply, the swine flu is, at present, a resistant strain of flu that is not a component of our regular flu shots,” Dr. Hibberd explained.
“It causes similar symptoms initially — sore throat, congestion, muscle aches, often gastrointestinal complaints, high fevers.
“In patients who have difficulty with their immunity generally, or who are otherwise compromised, death can ensue.”
Martella asked how physicians treat swine flu.
“At the moment I think we’re up against the wall,” Dr. Hibberd said, noting that swine flu is a member of a group of influenza viruses known as Type A that “has been somewhat resistant this year.
“Last year we always used Tamiflu. In fact the government has stockpiles of Tamiflu precisely for epidemics of this type.
“However, before last year we started to see an increase in resistance, up to 10 to 12 percent last year, and this past year we saw up to 90 percent of our flu strains becoming resistant to Tamiflu. So as a result many of us resorted to using Relenza, which is an inhaled product, not a pill, and that’s been useful. However, it’s not the cat’s meow at all.”
Dr. Hibberd added that “none of us yet really know how these drugs are going to pan out in this particular epidemic.”
Martella asked if the disease is spread only from animal to human or can it be spread from human to human.
“We were initially complacent with swine flu because it appeared swine flu itself stayed in swine, just as bird flu stayed with birds, and we saw little transfer once a human got it from the swine,” Dr. Hibberd responded.
“It wasn’t generally contagious to other humans. We saw that with the initial cases of swine flu back in the ‘70s.
“They’re now finding this particular strain is able to be transmitted to humans from other humans, so it’s very different from the other strains of swine flu in that it is transmissible and the other ones previously were rarely transmissible between humans.”
To prevent the spread of swine flu, Dr. Hibberd urged “social isolation in cases where we have somebody who has the flu. We want to keep them out of school, out of work, and home away from contact with others.
“And generally, hand-washing is very good because these viruses can sit on inanimate surfaces for extended periods.”
Asked what people should do in regard to swine flu, Dr. Hibberd told Martella the emergency “shouldn’t affect us, you and I, or anyone else, on a regular day-to-day basis, in a state that hasn’t got reported cases or a city or a school that doesn’t have reported cases.
“We should follow our routine health and hygiene measures, encourage our kids to wash their hands well, and encourage them when they’re sneezing or coughing to cover up and prevent others from getting contact.
“I believe at the moment it’s at a level where we need to be aware of it. We need to keep up with the media to see where this is spreading. Is it in our community? Is it at our school?
“Let’s anticipate this as potentially something that we might need to take action on in our communities. Most communities do not need to do any more than be aware of this, and [people] can talk to their doctor if they have health conditions now to see if there’s something else they need to be taking.
“There are preventive medicines and preventive doses of flu vaccines available, and I suggest patients ask their doctors individually on that.”
Dr. Hibberd also stated that “this is not a time to travel if you don’t need to.”
See Video: Newsmax medical columnist Dr. Peter Hibberd tells what you can do to limit the spread of swine flu - Click Here Now
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