Although the name 'swine flu' brings up a lot of extra fear and worry, it is important to note that swine flu is just an influenza A H1N1 virus.

    That means that it is just another type of flu virus, just like that causes our typical seasonal flu symptoms. The big difference is that the current swine influenza A （H1N1） virus is new and most of us don't have any immunity to it. That is why it so easily became a pandemic virus （with the ability to cause a global outbreak）, because it could easily spread from person to person.

    After a summer of declining flu cases, instances of swine flu began to rise again in early fall and there are now widespread swine flu cases in most of the US, as you can see on this swine flu map.

    Swine Flu Symptoms

    According to the CDC, like seasonal flu, symptoms of swine flu infections can include:

    fever, which is usually high, but unlike seasonal flu, is sometimes absent

    cough

    runny nose or stuffy nose

    sore throat

    body aches

    headache

    chills

    fatigue or tiredness, which can be extreme

    diarrhea and vomiting, sometimes, but more commonly seen than with seasonal flu

    Signs of a more serious swine flu infection might include pneumonia and respiratory failure.

    If your child has symptoms of swine flu, you should avoid other people and call your pediatrician who might do a rapid flu test to see if he has an influenza A infection. Further testing can then be done to see if it is a swine flu infection. （Samples can be sent to local and state health departments and the CDC for confirmation of swine flu, especially if a child is in the hospital.）

    Swine Flu High Risk Groups

    With regular seasonal flu, young children and the elderly are usually thought to be most at risk for serious infections, in addition to people with chronic medical problems. Swine flu high risk groups, people who are thought to be at risk for serious, life-threatening infections, are a little different and can include:

    pregnant women

    children under age two years old

    people with chronic medical problems, such as chronic lung disease, like asthma, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and immunosuppression

    children and adults with obesity

    It is important to keep in mind that unlike seasonal flu, more than half of the hospitalizations and a quarter of the deaths from swine flu are in young people under the age of 25.

    Serious Swine Flu Symptoms

    More serious symptoms that would indicate that a child with swine flu would need urgent medical attention include:

    Fast breathing or trouble breathing

    Bluish or gray skin color

    Not drinking enough fluids

    Severe or persistent vomiting

    Not waking up or not interacting

    Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held

    Flu-like symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

    Swine Flu Symptoms vs. a Cold or Sinus Infection

    It is important to keep in mind most children with a runny nose or cough will not have swine flu and will not have to see their pediatrician for swine flu testing.

    This time of year, many other childhood conditions are common, including:

    fall allergies - runny nose, congestion, and cough

    common cold - runny nose, cough, and low grade fever

    sinus infections - lingering runny nose, cough, and fever

    strep throat - sore throat, fever, and a positive strep test

    What You Need To Know

    Swine flu likely spreads by direct contact with respiratory secretions of someone that is sick with swine flu, like if they were coughing and sneezing close to you.

    People with swine flu are likely contagious for one day before and up to seven days after they began to get sick with swine flu symptoms.

    Droplets from a cough or sneeze can also contaminate surfaces, such as a doorknob, drinking glass, or kitchen counter, although these germs likely don't survive for more than a few hours.

    Anti-flu medications, including TamifluRelenza （zanamivir）, are available to prevent and treat swine flu in high risk children.

    （oseltamivir） and

    The latest swine flu news from the CDC includes advice that daycare centers should do daily health checks, separate ill children until they can go home, encourage kids to stay home until they are free of fever for at least 24 hours, encourage proper hand-washing, and teach kids to properly cover their coughs and sneezes to help everyone avoid the flu.

    盡管"豬流感"這個名字帶來了許多額外的恐懼和憂慮，重要的是要注意，豬流感不過是一種甲型流行性感冒H1N1病毒。

    這就意味著它只是另一種類型的流感病毒，就像引起我們典型季節性流感癥狀的病毒那樣。最大的區別是，當前的豬流感甲型（H1N1）病毒是新的，而我們大多數人對其沒有任何免疫力。這就是為什么它那么容易成為大規模流行病毒（具有引起全球爆發的能力）的原因，因為它能夠不費力地在人與人之間傳播。

    在夏天流感病例下降之后，初秋豬流感的病例開始再次上升。如同你可以在這張豬流感分布圖上看到的，現在美國的大部分都有廣泛分布的豬流感病例。

    豬流感的癥狀

    據疾病控制和預防中心的報告，像季節性流感那樣，豬流感感染的癥狀包括：

    * 發燒，通常是高燒，但是不像季節性流感，有時是不發燒的

    * 咳嗽

    * 流鼻涕或者鼻塞

    * 喉嚨痛

    * 身體疼痛

    * 頭痛

    * 發冷

    * 疲勞或者倦怠，可能極其嚴重

    * 腹瀉和嘔吐，有時出現，但是比與季節性流感更常見

    更為嚴重的豬流感感染可能包括肺炎和呼吸衰竭。

    如果你的孩子有豬流感癥狀，應該避免和別人接觸并且去瞧兒科醫師，他可能做一個快速的流感測試，以分辨你的孩子是否受到甲型流感病毒的感染。然后可以做進一步的測試，看看是不是豬流感感染。（樣品可以送往當地的和州立的衛生部門以及美國疾病控制與預防中心，用來確認豬流感，特別是如果孩子正在住院時。）

    豬流感的高危人群

    對于常規季節性流感來說，兒童和老年人通常被認為是最具有嚴重感染風險的，此外是對于具有慢性醫療問題的人。豬流感的高危人群，那些被認為處于嚴重的、威脅生命的感染危險的人有點不同，可能包括：

    * 孕婦

    * 2 歲以下的兒童

    * 具有慢性醫療問題的人，例如慢性肺部疾病，像哮喘、心血管疾病、糖尿病以及免疫抑制等

    * 具有肥胖癥的兒童和成人

    重要的是要記住，與季節性流感不同，一半以上的住院者和四分之一由于豬流感死亡的人數是年齡25歲以下的年輕人。

    嚴重豬流感的癥狀

    更為嚴重的癥狀，可能表明一個患豬流感的孩子需要緊急醫療照顧，包括：

    * 快速呼吸或者呼吸困難

    * 藍色或者灰色膚色

    * 不喝足夠的流體

    * 嚴重的或者持續性的嘔吐

    * 不醒或者沒有互動

    * 變得急躁易怒，以致孩子都不愿被抱起

    * 流感樣癥狀改善，但是然后轉為發燒和糟糕的咳嗽

    豬流感癥狀與感冒或者鼻竇感染的比較

    這是很重要的，要記住大多數流鼻涕或者咳嗽的孩子并不是患豬流感，不需要去瞧他們的兒科醫師進行豬流感的測試。

    每年這個時候，很多其它的兒童情況是普遍的，包括：

    * 秋天過敏癥--流鼻涕、充血以及咳嗽

    * 普通感冒--流鼻涕、咳嗽以及發低燒

    * 鼻竇感染--連綿地流鼻涕，咳嗽以及發燒

    * 膿毒性咽喉炎--喉嚨痛、發燒以及鏈狀球菌感染測試陽性

    你需要知道的事情

    * 豬流感可能通過直接接觸某人的呼吸道分泌物而傳播，該人患豬流感病，可能是在他們接近你咳嗽和打噴嚏的時候。

    * 患豬流感的人很可能在開始生病具有豬流感癥狀的前一天，直到開始具有豬流感癥狀之后的第七天，具有傳染性。

    * 咳嗽或者打噴嚏的飛沫也可能污染比如門把手、水杯或者廚房柜臺的表面，雖然這些細菌可能不能超過幾小時存活。

    * 抗流行性感冒的藥物。包括達菲（oseltamivir）和瑞樂沙（zanamivir）,可用來在高危兒童中預防和治療豬流感。

    * 來自疾病控制與預防中心的最新的豬流感消息，包括建議日托中心應該進行每天的健康檢查，分開生病的孩子直到他們能回家時，鼓勵孩子們呆在家里直到他們至少24小時不再發燒，鼓勵正確的洗手，以及教導孩子們適當地擋住他們咳嗽和打噴嚏來幫助大家避免流感。