What is the one thing that has grabbed world attention for the past few months with reams of newspaper articles devoted to analyze and find a solution to a problem that has threatened to turn our world into a sick planet? The world at large was already grappling with economic recession and a sudden unexpected attack from a virus known as the swine flu took the wind out of the wings. There was hardly any country left unaffected with its impact. Recession got pushed to the background and this came to occupy center stage. The other common name it is referred to as the H1N1 flu and the WHO (World Health Organization) has declared it to be a global epidemic and has issued advice to all countries in the world to be very vigilant against it.

So what is this swine flu or H1N1 flu and how does it affect us human beings? Why is it so dangerous? Is there a cure for this flu? How does it spread? What are the dos and don'ts we need to follow to protect ourselves from this deadly disease? These and many such questions crop up whenever the disease is mentioned. Swine flu is an acute respiratory disease primarily found in pigs and caused by a virus of the influenza A category. Pigs which get affected with the disease recover within a week's time and death due to it is uncommon. The current virus affecting human beings is a form of the swine flu virus. It was initially thought to have been transmitted from pigs to human and the new strain of the virus has genes from human, pigs and birds.

The strain of the virus is known as H1N1 and it spreads when an infected person sneezes or coughs without adequate protection. People standing close to the infected person would most likely get affected and this very easy form of spreading most it potentially dangerous. Droplets from the mouth or nose if found on keyboards, mobile phones, remote controls and other hard surfaces in constant use are also good carriers of the disease. The symptoms of the disease could be cold and cough, fever, sore throat, body pain which could easily be dismissed as common virus problems. If you tend to take these things lightly and do not go for analysis and treatment early then the chance of mortality is very high.

Are there people who are more at risk than others? Research has proved that pregnant women, people over the age of 65 and children below 5 are considered the most risky group but the virus has the tendency to strike one and all. Other high risk groups include people with respiratory disease like asthma, lung infection, kidney disease, heart disease, neurological disease, diabetics and those with low immune levels. One of the easiest and effective prevention of the disease is to maintain high standards of hygiene wear a mask and avoid crowded places. The human race has over the years faced an onslaught from different types of virus and has always triumphed. We will win the battle against this as well. The human spirit will win the race against H1N1.