Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease - Symptoms, Prevention and Cure

Different types of viruses have come and gone, from SARS, swine flu to AH1N1 -- all of us were very cautious as to what to eat and where to go as we might get the virus from carriers surrounding us. Recently, another virus has been circulating not only in Manila but in other countries as well – it’s the “hand, foot and mouth disease”. A lot of people might find the name unusual but the truth is, the name of the virus is very literal.

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Should Classes be moved to September?

I was reading an article earlier this week in Philippine Star written by Alejandro R. Roces and I think we both have the same thoughts floating inside our minds.

There are way too many factors that distract the student's momentum in learning when classes open in June. One of which is because, June, July and August is Philippines' typhoon season.

According to the said article,

Aside from Brunei, we are the only country in Asia which opens classes in June, the month of monsoon rains here, but in Brunei, June is dry season. Indonesia starts in mid-July; Malaysia and Singapore in January and China, in February or March, depending on the moving date of New Year in the Chinese calendar; South Korea opens in March and Thailand in May while Hongkong starts classes in September. As mentioned, both Japan and India open classes in April.

Some might say that it might be too hot to study in April or May. At least classes won't be suspended. I haven't heard of classes getting suspended because of hot weather here in the Philippines.

Installing air conditioners might not be the solution for everyone but, at least the kids won't get sick or stranded somewhere because of the floods. Worst case, they might even suffer injuries or death when crossing the flooded street unknowingly towards an open man-hole. (which is another problem in the Philippines. Flood and open man-holes)

I don't really know why classes in the Philippines normally start in June. Ever since I was born, it was like that already and now that I am already degree holder, I haven't thought of researching on it. I plan to, but not now.

Well, enough of the flood and typhoons. This year was the best year for them to run a trial and transfer classes from June to September! Looking back a month ago, a lot of classes were suspended because of the Ah1n1 virus (a common seasonal flu now). Although overrated, it did cause a lot of panic and alarm a month back.

Classes were suspended for around 1/3 of a month's time. Thank God that it's highly curable, but still, this was a good year to try the September classes.

Final thought from Mr. Alejandro R. Roces,

India, for example, begins the school year in April and schedules its student breaks from the middle of May to end of July for students to escape the debilitating heat of summer. Likewise in Japan, one of the reasons for the trimester season which begins in April, is to have a summer break with a varying duration in mid-July to end of August also to avoid the heat of summer. So here in our country, if the rains and floods in June bring so much interference to students and schools alike, why should we not move the opening of classes to avoid it?

There you go. I am not sure if everyone would agree but, those are just my thoughts :)

To avoid flu's, keep a bottle of alcohol with you and wash your hands from time to time using soap to prevent the virus from spreading.

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Will postponing classes be sufficient to prevent Ah1n1?

This years biggest issue worldwide is, one, the economic crisis and second, the Ah1n1 virus spreading all over the world. Although there are several kinds of strains, there are some precautionary measures that can be applied to prevent Ah1n1.

Just last week, a student from De La Salle University was found to be positive with the Ah1n1 virus. This was when the Commission on Higher Education declared that all colleges and university postpone their classes opening date to June 15, 2009.

The ultimate question is, won't the younger kids (grade school and high school) get infected with the Ah1n1 virus? Why did they not postpone the classes of the grade school and high school students?

In my opinion, classes should be postponed further and I think that it's better that they lessen the students' summer next year since they had a long vacation this year. This will keep everyone safer. Also, the information campaign is not sufficient. This Ah1n1 virus is overrated. Though the death rate is low, what's scary is the mutation capabilities of the virus. But, people should also know that there are far more deadlier viruses out there that can be more deadlier than the Ah1n1. Dengue is an example.

If you look at the chart below, the percentage is really low and we hope that it stays low or even become lower. (Source: WHO)

Country	Cumulative total		Newly confirmed since the last reporting period
	Cases	Deaths	Cases	Deaths
Argentina	147	0	16	0
Australia	876	0	375	0
Austria	2	0	1	0
Bahamas	1	0	0	0
Bahrain	1	0	0	0
Barbados	1	0	1	0
Belgium	13	0	0	0
Bolivia	3	0	0	0
Brazil	28	0	8	0
Bulgaria	1	0	0	0
Canada	1795	3	265	1
Chile	369	1	56	1
China	89	0	20	0
Colombia	24	0	4	0
Costa Rica	68	1	18	0
Cuba	4	0	0	0
Cyprus	1	0	0	0
Czech Republic	2	0	1	0
Denmark	4	0	3	0
Dominican Republic	33	0	22	0
Ecuador	43	0	4	0
Egypt	1	0	0	0
El Salvador	49	0	8	0
Estonia	3	0	2	0
Finland	4	0	0	0
France	47	0	21	0
Germany	43	0	15	0
Greece	5	0	0	0
Guatemala	23	0	9	0
Honduras	34	0	32	0
Hungary	3	0	2	0
Iceland	1	0	0	0
India	4	0	3	0
Ireland	8	0	4	0
Israel	39	0	6	0
Italy	38	0	8	0
Jamaica	2	0	0	0
Japan	410	0	25	0
Korea, Republic of	41	0	0	0
Kuwait	18	0	0	0
Lebanon	3	0	0	0
Luxembourg	1	0	1	0
Malaysia	2	0	0	0
Mexico	5563	103	534	6
Netherlands	4	0	0	0
New Zealand	11	0	1	0
Nicaragua	5	0	4	0
Norway	9	0	5	0
Panama	173	0	18	0
Paraguay	5	0	0	0
Peru	47	0	7	0
Philippines	29	0	13	0
Poland	4	0	0	0
Portugal	2	0	0	0
Romania	8	0	3	0
Russia	3	0	0	0
Saudi Arabia	1	0	1	0
Singapore	12	0	3	0
Slovakia	3	0	1	0
Spain	218	0	38	0
Sweden	13	0	6	0
Switzerland	10	0	0	0
Thailand	8	0	6	0
Turkey	8	0	4	0
United Kingdom	428	0	89	0
United States of America	11054	17	1001	0
Uruguay	15	0	0	0
Venezuela	4	0	1	0
Viet Nam	3	0	0	0
Grand Total	21940	125	2667	8

It is also important that the government do not disclose the information and location of people infected with the said virus to prevent it from spreading further. Doing so, they are risking more people to be infected with the Ah1n1 flu strain.

Photo from: Filipino Socialism Wordpress

On another note, I guess that the postponement of the classes in the college level might have something to do with the con-ass independence day rally that would be even bigger this Friday if the classes in the college level would already start. Otherwise, why didn't they also postpone the classes in the grade school and high school level?

For those planning to join the CONASS independence day rally, go! Let's not give chance to the government to do whatever they want. It is impossible that President GMA has no "hidden agenda" with this CONASS thing.

www.Notoconass.com

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Swine Flu 101: What, symptoms, cure and medication

Swine Flu 101: Things you need to know about Swine Flu.
"Prevention is always better than cure"

What is Swine Flu?
Also called Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Simply put, Swine Flu is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease normally found in pigs. Also caused by the orthomyxovirus thought to be the same viurs that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic.

How does Swine Flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. It spreads through tiny particles in the air or by direct contact.

Can humans catch Swine Flu?
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry).

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food; you cannot get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products.

What are the symptoms of Swine Flu in humans?
Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea as symptoms.

How about the symptoms of Swine Flu in pigs?
Like humans, pigs get the flu. They develop a sudden fever, a barking cough, sneezing, lethargy and typically lose their appetite. Not every animal infected displays symptoms.

Short history of the Swine Flu.
The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930. Most swine flu viruses belong to the Influenza A H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes.

When does Swine Flu outbreak usually occur?
Swine influenza viruses circulate among pigs throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter, just like with outbreaks in humans.

Swine Flu tips and FAQs

I got the flu shot this year. Am I protected?
No. H1N1 swine flu viruses are very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.

Is this a new kind of swine flu?
Yes. The CDC reports that the virus in these latest cases is a never-before-seen mixture of viruses typical among pigs, birds and humans.

The influenza A H1N1 virus contains DNA typical to avian, swine and human viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine viruses.

Although it's called swine flu, this new strain is not infecting pigs and has never been seen in pigs.

What are signs of swine flu in pigs?
Signs of swine flu in pigs can include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing (barking), discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and going off feed.

How do we prevent Swine Flu from spreading or infecting us?
To prevent it, the CDC urges hand-washing, plenty of sleep, and drinking plenty of fluids. (You can't get it from pork, if you're wondering, although you may recall that pigs have also now been found to carry "superbugs.")

Is there a cure or vaccine?
Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.

What medication should we take?
There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.

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Swine Flu information sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/key_facts.htm
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090424/swine_flu_090424/20090424?hub=Health

Related news about the Swine Flu:
Philippines warns on hugs, kisses over flu fear
Swine Flu alarms world
Swine Flu hits Pangasinan
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