What are swine flu symptoms?

Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Many people with swine flu have had diarrhea and vomiting. Nearly everyone with flu has at least two of these symptoms.

Who is at highest risk from H1N1 swine flu?

Most U.S. cases of H1N1 swine flu have been in older children and young adults. It’s not clear why, and it’s not clear whether this will change.
But certain groups are at particularly high risk of severe disease or bad outcomes if they get the flu:
•Pregnant women
•Young children, especially those under 12 months of age
•The elderly
•People with heart disease or risk factors for heart disease
•People with HIV infection
•People with chronic diseases
•People taking immune suppressing drugs, such as cancer chemotherapy or anti-rejection drugs for transplants
•People in these groups should seek medical care as soon as they get flu symptoms.

If I think I have swine flu, what should I do? When should I see my doctor?

If you have flu symptoms, stay home, and when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterward, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. That will help prevent your flu from spreading.

If you’ve got flu symptoms, and you live in or recently visited an area where H1N1 swine flu cases have been identified, CDC officials recommend that you see your doctor. If you have flu symptoms but you haven’t been in a high-risk area, you can still see a doctor -- use your judgment and consider calling first to ask if you need to make an appointment.

But there are emergency warning signs.
Children should be given urgent medical attention if they:
•Have fast breathing or trouble breathing
•Have bluish or gray skin color
•Are not drinking enough fluids
•Are not waking up or not interacting
•Are so irritable that the child does not want to be held
•Have flu-like symptoms that improve but then return with fever and a worse cough
•Have fever with a rash
Adults should seek urgent medical attention if they have:
•Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
•Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
•Sudden dizziness
•Confusion
•Severe or persistent vomiting

How does swine flu spread? Is it airborne?

Infected people can start spreading flu germs up to a day before symptoms start, and for up to seven days after getting sick, according to the CDC.
The swine flu virus can become airborne if you cough or sneeze without covering your nose and mouth, sending germs into the air.
The U.S. residents infected with swine flu virus had no direct contact with pigs. The CDC says it’s likely that the infections represent widely separated cycles of human-to-human infections.
How is swine flu treated?
The new swine flu virus is sensitive to the antiviral drugs Tamiflu and Relenza. The CDC recommends those drugs to prevent or treat swine flu; the drugs are most effective when taken within 48 hours of the start of flu symptoms. But not everyone needs those drugs; many of the first people in the U.S. with lab-confirmed swine flu recovered without treatment. The Department of Homeland Security has released 25% of its stockpile of Tamiflu and Relenza to states. Health officials have asked people not to hoard Tamiflu or Relenza.
Is there a vaccine against the new swine flu virus?
No. But the CDC and the World Health Organization are already taking the first steps toward making such a vaccine. That’s a lengthy process -- it takes months. 
I had a flu vaccine this season. Am I protected against swine flu?
No. This season’s flu vaccine wasn’t made with the new swine flu virus in mind; no one saw this virus coming ahead of time. 
How can I prevent swine flu infection?
The CDC recommends taking these steps:
•Wash your hands regularly with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Or use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
•Avoid close contact with sick people.
•Avoid touching your mouth, nose, or eyes. That’s not easy to do, so keep those hands clean.
•If you feel ill, stay home.

How long does the flu virus survive on surfaces?

Flu bugs can survive for hours on surfaces. One study showed that flu viruses can live for up to 48 hours on hard, nonporous surfaces such as stainless steel and for up to 12 hours on cloth and tissues. The virus seems to survive only for minutes on your hands -- but that’s plenty of time for you to transfer it to your mouth, nose, or eyes.
How serious is the public health threat of a swine flu epidemic?
The U.S. government has declared swine flu to be a public health emergency.
It remains to be seen how severe swine flu will be in the U.S. and elsewhere, but countries worldwide are monitoring the situation closely and preparing for the possibility of a pandemic.
The World Health Organization has not declared swine flu to be a pandemic. The WHO wants to learn more about the virus first and see how severe it is and how deeply it takes root.
The H1N1 swine flu outbreak comes at the end of the U.S. flu season. The virus has spread across the nation. Nobody knows whether it will stick around all summer or whether it will get worse when flu season begins again this fall.
Scientists are closely watching the Southern Hemisphere to see whether the H1N1 swine flu begins to circulate there. If it does, it will be important to see whether the virus changes over time, and whether it spreads more efficiently in the winter months.
WebMD senior writer Daniel J. DeNoon contributed to this report.