Can babies get Swine Flu

Answer 1

Yes, but how likely they are to get it depends upon the type of Swine Flu virus. There are different viruses or strains of viruses that are called "swine flu".

The original name for the kind of influenza that pigs get was "swine flu" in the US. Pigs usually get this from other pigs. Humans usually don't get it unless they are in very close proximity to infected pigs as might occur on pig farms . It is rare however. Mutations of this type of swine flu occur constantly among pigs and some farmers struggle to keep ahead of the high loss livestock disease with "designer" vaccinations made for the specific mutations in one herd before transmitted to another herd in the area.

This swine flu that pigs get was one of the early flu viruses that was able to be identified as a Type A H1N1 influenza virus once we were able to type them this way.

As Type A flu viruses have mutated among humans, we, too started getting viruses identified as H1N1 subtypes, but they were different than the ones pigs get. In retrospect, scientists have also attributed some of the epidemics and pandemics of influenza among people in the past to this same type. It was a type of H1N1 virus that caused the Spanish Flu of 1918 when tens of millions of people died of the pandemic after WW 1; and another strain of H1N1 was the cause of the 1976 US outbreak at Fort Dix, New Jersey. There was a halted vaccination program associated with the 1976 Swine Flu.

In 2009, a pandemic became known as the Swine Flu Pandemic. It was also caused by a Type A H1N1 Influenza strain. It is highly contagious among humans.

Answer 2

Yes. That is why it is called that. But the strain they get most often is different than most of the kinds that people get. This type of Influenza, Type A and subtype H1N1, started as a porcine disease. It mutated to incorporate human viruses which made it possible for people to get it. The particular one that was pandemic in 2009, Novel Type A/H1N1-09, mutated in a form that combines pig flu, human flu and bird flu genetic material. Pigs can get it from people just as humans first got it from pigs before it began the human to human pandemic spread.

Answer 3

Babies under six months old should not be allowed out in areas where there is risk of exposure to the flu. All hygiene precautions and prevention techniques against swine flu (A-H1N1/09) should be utilized if you must take the baby out. All caregivers and family members who will be with the baby should be very careful to avoid giving the flu to the infant. Avoid non-essential travel and crowded places. If the baby is over six months then speak to the pediatrician for information about getting a vaccination as soon as the vaccine is released. Very young children, toddlers, and infants older than 6 months may be candidates for the vaccine and they are high on the priority list to be some of the first to get the vaccine as it is released. Direct care givers of these young children and infants are also among the priority groups to receive early vaccinations.Your pediatrician may even plan to be one of the providers of vaccinations. It is expected to be released for distribution in mid October, so stay alert to your local health department for press releases about the locations and groups who will be eligible for vaccinations in the early groups.

Answer 4

Yes, especially at that age since they are not yet able to be vaccinated, and they have an immature immune system that will not be able to respond to protect them if they are exposed. Parents are advised by the pediatricians how to keep their infants protected as well as possible from Infectious Diseases, if you have not received those instructions, contact the doctors' office to find out.'

Babies who are not yet able to receive flu vaccinations rely on being kept away from public places and from those who may be ill, along with the antibodies they receive from mother's milk, to prevent disease until they can be given vaccines.

Answer 5

Yes, anyone can get swine flu. If a baby (or anyone) has the symptoms, they should be taken to a doctor immediately.

Answer 6

welll the best thing to do is if you think your baby has swine,take it to a doctor and if you not sure usually the syntoms are first coughing then after 1 or 2 days throwing up