Question 1

what is the main difference between swine flu and sars?

Accepted Answer

Viral type: The SARS illness was caused by a coronavirus and "swine flu" is the influenza subtype H1N1.  Both result in a severe pneumonia and can result in multiple organ failure leading to death.  The mortality rate of SARS was much higher than the pandemic H1N1, as was the propensity to spread via the air.

Question 2

would you treat someone with sars or swine flu knowing you can possibly die?

Accepted Answer

Yes: Healthcare providers take risks everyday to take care of patients with potentially lethal diseases. We take precautions, especially when dealing with communicable diseases, but acquiring a serious disease comes with the territory.

Question 3

what to do if i have to do this leaflet for years 1+2 about diseases, like sars and swine flu. how are they transmitted ?

Accepted Answer

Leaflet: If asked to do a leaflet about a medical topic that is not in an area of yoru expertise, it would be wise to consult an authoritative source like the CDC website for information.  The CDC does a good job in making medical information available in a way that everyone can understand it.

Question 4

are doctors required to treat patients with sars and swine flu?

Accepted Answer

If you are on call: You are on call. In fact, during an outbreak many physicians may have a duty to report to various hospitals and simply stay on.  Pulmonologists, intensivists, and infectious disease physicians all expect to deal with potentially deadly infections, and take precautions.  As a caveat, i took care of 28 patients in the h1n1 outbreak that were confirmed positive.

Question 5

in comparison to sars and bird flu, how bad is swine flu?

Accepted Answer

Less severe: As of now swine flu is difficult to transmit to humans, therefore is less of a direct health threat, at present unless one has prolonged exposure to pigs.  The virus has some biological similarities to a flu virus that caused a very deadly flu pandemic in 1918 which killed 50 million people. The fear is a mutation in the swine flu virus could enable it to more easily infect humans, as in 1918.

Question 6

are there seasonality for sars, swine flu, bird flu?

Accepted Answer

No, yes, yes: Influenza tends to start in the late fall, peak through the winter and taper off in the spring.  Sars occurred over 1.5 years and had sporadic outbreaks based on contacts and animal carriers, and hasn't been seen since 2004.

Question 7

when compared to sars and the bird flu, how bad is this swine flu right now?

Accepted Answer

Not bad: The swine flu 2 years ago (2009) was quite bad at first but, given the rapid development of a vaccine, infection control, and aggressive treatment, it came under control nicely.  This year (2011-12) the influenza outbreak has been mild to date (december 27).  There  are no current sars or bird flu outbreaks in north america.

Question 8

what is the main difference between
sars and flu ?

Accepted Answer

SARS vs influenza: Both of these viral infections are bad news - SARS is worse, since there's no good antiviral treatment or vaccine, whereas at least flu has antiviral medication and a vaccine that can help tremendously. SARS is a coronavirus (looks like a little crown under an electron microscope). Flu is an orthomyxovirus. Good hygiene practices go a long way in preventing these diseases. Luckily no SARS right now.

Question 9

what's the difference between the swine flu and the bird flu?

Accepted Answer

Different strains of: Influenza a virus. The different stains have different molecules on their surface and selectively infect certain species. For more information see this site.
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/gen-info/flu-viruses.htm.

Question 10

how can i tell the difference between swine flu and the common flu?

Accepted Answer

Seasonal v swine flu: Swine flu typically presents with rapid onset (3 to 5 hours) with a fever (, > 100°), chills, headache, severe aches and pain, fatigue, nasal congestion, sneezing, sore throat, coughing, diarrhea and possibly vomiting.  
Seasonal flu usually presents over several days with a high fever (102-104°); with severe muscle aches & pains, exhaustion, non-productive cough with nasal congestion, sneezing, >.

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Doctor answers about:

What is the main difference between swine flu and SARS

A member asked:

What is the main difference between swine flu and sars?

A member asked:

Would you treat someone with sars or swine flu knowing you can possibly die?

A member asked:

What to do if i have to do this leaflet for years 1+2 about diseases, like sars and swine flu. how are they transmitted ?

A member asked:

Are doctors required to treat patients with sars and swine flu?

A member asked:

In comparison to sars and bird flu, how bad is swine flu?

A member asked:

Are there seasonality for sars, swine flu, bird flu?

A member asked:

When compared to sars and the bird flu, how bad is this swine flu right now?

A member asked:

What is the main difference between sars and flu ?

A member asked:

What's the difference between the swine flu and the bird flu?

A member asked:

How can i tell the difference between swine flu and the common flu?

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