H1N1 for the layman - by Kudo

H1N1 ni sejenis flu, or full name dia influenza. Flu ni bila2 ada di dunia ni, and this particular one takde vaccine. Kalau tengok flu vaccine, every time vaccine dia keluarkan bergantung kat virus strain mana yg CDC (http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm) agak akan cause havoc utk tahun tu. So, ada tahun Hong Kong flu la, amende flu la.

'Flu' yg kita selalu dgr org ckp ie selsema, demam and batuk2 tapi lasts for like at most beberapa hari je - itu sebenarnya cold. Virus dia lain eg adenovirus etc. Flu yg betul sakit dia teruk - sendi2 sengal, demam, sakit kepala and selsema/batuk. Org kata kalau aku tanam RM100 dlm laman rumah kau, sakit tu berat enough to make you go eh tak mau ah, nak dok dlm katil. Now, ini flu yg betul and ada di mana2.

Sama gak dgn swine flu. Yg lainnya dia tak de vaccine mcm flu lain. So far, according to WHO, kalau kena kebanyakan org kena demam/sakit agak sederhana. Mcm flu biasa.

Now, yg boleh mati - flu biasa pun boleh membunuh, selalunya org yg daya ketahanan immune system yg kureng atau ada co-existing diseases yg boleh jadi lagi teruk bila kena infection, contohnya org asthma yg teruk, chronic bronchitis (ni org isap rokok yg biasanya batuk2 kahak) atau heart failure yg paru2nya 'berair'. Kalau tgk yg meninggal ni either mmg selalunya ada sakit sampingan. Ada jugak some individuals yg mati disebabkan reaction badan nk lawan flu tu kuat sangat - tuan punya badan mati (the so-called cytokine storm). Tapi di ingatkan, ini pun boleh jadik dgn flu biasa.One complication is pneumonia (infection paru2) disebabkan flu virus, ini pun boleh kena dgn flu virus biasa, and is a possibility but not an eventuality.

Masalah besar skrg is walaupun test tu positif kat si mati, it is difficult to be 100% certain H1N1 tu sebabnya. Psl kat sini, org M'sia tak buat autopsy sangat mcm kat UK. Kat sini deaths ada tapi bila autopsy tgk - rupa2nya sakit jantung etc, ie they died WITH swine flu, bukan OF swine flu. Am I making sense? Additional problem is - media kengkadang tak tulis betul2 berita. Org mati with H1N1, dia tulis mati of. Niat media betul nak inform org, tapi tak boleh nak kata apa kan - human nature menyebabkan kita baca dan kita jadik anxious. In the British press, tak de berita psl bilangan kematian yg merisaukan (possibly psl sistem autopsy sini) and aku punya hospital tak de increase in deaths either (aku tau psl bilik mayat mcm 50 feet from my office!). Tapi kat UK, flu teruk masa winter - so watch this space.

Ubat utk H1N1 effective kalau makan awal (tamiflu or relenza). And korang kalau tgk berita/paper Msia dah ada ubat ni (ubat kot yg ada di clinic tu - BUKAN vaccine). Rihat di rumah, minum air banyak2. And panadol utk hilangkan2 sakit2. You are infectious masa nak start sakit and you may still be infectious after 5-10 days. So kurangkan exposure kepada org lain. What are the chances of recovery tanya Mizy - the answer in my opinion, is the same as any influenza viral infection.

Prevention is the best cure especially for influenza, so kalau sakit jgn jangkitkan kat org. Kalau sihat, maintain good hygiene. Tissue paper sekali guna buang. InsyaAllah ok.

Ingat - flu biasa PUN boleh membunuh. Psl swine flu ni dpt perhatian umum psl dia tak ada vaccine - benda yg mmg ada jadi 'besar'. Take a step back and think. The last H1N1 pandemic yg bunuh berjuta org tahun 1918 camtu - tapi ingat dulu medical technology mcm mana.

According to CDC kat USA - vaccine MUNGKIN ready this autumn: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm

Stay safe!

Kudo

Reference: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/219557-overview
List org yg increased risk mendpt complication dari flu, termasuk H1N1: http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/219557-diagnosis