One of the threats that can threaten human life besides war and natural disasters is disease outbreaks. Certain disease outbreaks can kill thousands of human lives if they don't get proper treatment. Previously in Indonesia, a disease outbreak that claimed many victims was bird flu. In addition, in other parts of the world, bird flu outbreaks have succeeded in making many countries ask their citizens not to travel to countries affected by the disease outbreak.
In 2016, swine flu hit Brazil and killed thousands of people. The Brazilian government recorded 5,214 cases of swine flu in Brazil within six months. According to the Brazilian health authorities at the time, the number of people exposed to it increased when it was cold. Besides Brazil, Myanmar experienced a similar incident. Since June 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared swine flu a contagious disease and infected thousands of people around the world. During the span of just six months, the total number of people who died from this disease globally reached 14,378 people.
Swine flu attacks the human respiratory system, just like bird flu and the common cold that humans experience. The H1N1 virus causes swine flu which can mutate, spread and infect quickly, causing death. In the United States, three types of swine flu viruses have been found, namely H1N1, H1N2 and H3N2.
The swine flu virus is easily spread by coughing and sneezing. Therefore, if one of the family members catches the flu, the people closest to them are easily infected. Swine flu can reportedly spread from pigs to humans or vice versa. However, there is no certainty that consuming pork makes the risk higher or not.
Even though swine flu has been endemic for a long time, it's a good idea to maintain health and environmental hygiene so that this disease doesn't reappear. Here are some symptoms of swine flu that you must watch out for:
- Fever.
- Fatigue.
- aches.
- Headache.
- Cold and stuffy nose.
- Red and watery eyes.
- Sore throat.
- Rashes on the skin.
- Diarrhea.
- Nausea and vomiting.
- Cough (usually a dry cough).
- Hard to breathe.
Swine flu has similar symptoms to the common cold, so it's hard to tell the difference between the two. In some situations, symptoms can worsen and have many complications:
- Hard to breathe.
- Pneumonia.
- Changes in mental status (from changes in behavior to confusion, seizures).
- Death.
- In addition, some of the things below can increase the risk of swine flu becoming a more serious illness and causing complications, including:
- Children under 5 years of age or over 65 years of age.
- Pregnant mother.
- Suffer from a chronic illness, such as asthma, heart disease, pneumonia, or diabetes.
- Having a weak immune system, for example due to suffering from HIV/AIDS.
- Have a profession as a medical worker, for example doctors and nurses.
Even though the swine flu epidemic is no longer happening,
you still need to be vigilant about swine flu.