Update: Sixteen confirmed cases of swine influenza in Australia.
What is swine influenza (swine flu)?
Swine influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza. Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans, however, human infections with swine flu do occur, and cases of human-to-human spread of a swine flu virus have been recently confirmed.
What are the symptoms?
The symptoms of swine influenza are similar to normal influenza (fever, cough, tiredness, muscle aches, sore throat, chills, shortness of breath, runny nose, headache). Some cases of swine influenza have also complained of vomiting and diarrhoea. In some cases, swine influenza can result in a severe pneumonia. Symptoms of influenza generally appear between two to four days after exposure