Year's first swine flu case reported in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: First case of swine flu in 2019 was reported in Islamabad, where a 27-year old Fahad Shah has been diagnosed with the deadly virus, ARY News reported on Friday.

According to sources, a resident of Rawalpindi’s area of Gulzar Quaid was tested positive on January 10, in a private hospital of the federal capital.

Fahad, the victim of the swine flu has been shifted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).

“His condition is said to be critical and has been put on the ventilator,” said sources privy to the development.

Read more: Swine Flu patient dies at Multan hospital

What swine flu is?

H1N1 flu is also known as swine flu. It’s called swine flu because in the past, the people who caught it had direct contact with pigs. That changed several years ago, when a new virus emerged that spread among people who hadn’t been near pigs.

In 2009, H1N1 was spreading fast around the world, so the World Health Organization called it a pandemic. Since then, people have continued to get sick from swine flu, but not as many.

How do you catch it?

The same way as the seasonal flu. When people who have it cough or sneeze, they spray tiny drops of the virus into the air. If you come in contact with these drops, touch a surface (like a doorknob or sink) where the drops landed, or touch something an infected person has recently touched, you can catch H1N1 swine flu.

How is it treated? 

Some of the same antiviral drugs that are used to treat seasonal flu also work against H1N1 swine flu. Oseltamivir (Tamiflu), peramivir (Rapivab), and zanamivir (Relenza) seem to work best, although some kinds of swine flu don’t respond to oseltamivir.

These drugs can help you get well faster. They can also make you feel better. They work best when you take them within 48 hours of the first flu symptoms, but they can help even if you get them later on.

Antibiotics won’t do anything for you. That’s because flu is caused by a virus, not bacteria.