H1N1 Influenza (Nursing)

H1N1 Swine flu is a subtype of influenza A virus (a communicable viral disease), which causes upper, and potentially, lower respiratory tract infections in the host it infects, resulting in symptoms such as nasal secretions, chills, fever, decreased appetite, and possibly lower respiratory tract disease. H1N1 swine influenza is a common infection in pigs worldwide, and that is why it is also known as swine flu. H1N1 swine flu leads to respiratory disease that can potentially infect the respiratory tract of pigs. Sometimes, people who are closely associated with pigs or in the proximity of pigs have developed swine flu (zoonotic swine flu). Swine influenza viruses can potentially cause infections in humans if antigenic characteristics of the virus change through reassortment. When this happens, transmission from person-to-person is usually inefficient. Influenza A pandemics such as the ones in 1918 and 2009 can occur if the transmission from person-to-person becomes efficient.  In 1918, a deadly influenza pandemic caused by H1N1 influenza virus, also known as the Spanish flu, infected approximately 500 million people around the world and resulted in the deaths of 50 to 100 million people (3% to 5% of the world population) worldwide, distinguishing it as one of the most deadly pandemics in human history. In 2009, a new strain H1N1 swine flu spread fast around the world among humans, and the World Health Organization (WHO) labeled it a pandemic. However, the 2009 H1N1 virus was not zoonotic swine flu because it was not transferred from pigs to humans. Instead, it spread through airborne droplets from human to human, and potentially, through human contact with inanimate objects contaminated with the virus and transferred to the eyes or nose. This virus caused similar symptoms to those seen in swine, possibly due to reassortment of the viral RNA structure, which allowed human-to-human transfer.  Despite the name, an individual cannot acquire swine flu from eating pig products such as bacon, ham, and other pig products.