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Newswise: With more outbreaks of the new strain of swine flu come outbreaks of misinformation and rumor. Below are 20 questions answered by infectious disease expert Charles Ericsson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of Travel Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston.

Also, Robert Emery, DrPH, vice president for Safety, Health, Environment & Risk Management at UT Health Science Center and associate professor in the UT School of Public Health explains common sense preparedness and prevention of illness.

1. How do symptoms of swine flu differ from other types of flu
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We have just posted an important Insight about how to protect yourself from Swine Flu, and what to do if you get it. Some of the most important material is about HOW to wash your hands!

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NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.read more

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UPDATE: First US death, 2 year old Mexican child living in Texas – Since the late nineteenth century when adequate recordsbegan to be kept, there have been four major flu pandemics,in 1889, 1918, 1957 and 1968. Pandemics come in waves, andthe 1918 event showed a typical pattern. The flu spread frombirds to humans, then to pigs, then back to humans. Itappeared in March of 1918 as a mild disease, spreadingslowly until September, when it re-emerged as the mostvirulent flu in modern times. It killed 675,000 Americansand as many as a 100 million people worldwide. These hugenumbers, however, conceal an important fact: only 2 percentof everyone who was infected died.read more

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Swine flu has spread to the US–2 UPDATES – On Sunday, the US government declared a public health emergency because the number of swine flu cases in this country has risen to 20 and the new variant of the virus isnot yet understood. Public institutions in Mexico have been closed down due to the virus, and free face masks have been distributed. No one has died from it in the US so far, but there have been almost 150 deaths in Mexico, although, like bird flu, most people are likely to get a mild case of the disease (the dead were most likely elderly or immune-suppressed individuals). Symptoms include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
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