WHO has revised the pandemic alert for swine influenza to phase 5 on 29th April, 2009. US government site for authentic and updated information on flu pandemics is available at www.pandemicflu.gov. Phase 5 alert means that a pandemic is imminent. The virus strain causing swine influenza is H1N1 while the earlier avian flu pandemic was caused by the virus strain H5N1. The Director General of World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Margaret Chan feels that the preparedness measures taken during the H5N1 avian influenza threat were an investment from which we …

Swine Influenza A outbreak has started in March, 2009 in Mexico. The number of suspected cases has increased to about 2000 while the death toll is increasing. Confirmed cases has been reported from the United States, Spain, Scotland and Canada. World Health Organization has increased the pandemic alert level from 3 to phase 4, meaning that “that the likelihood of a pandemic has increased, but not that a pandemic is inevitable”. Human to human transmission has evolved as cases without any contact with swine what so ever have occurred.
Swine Influenza …

Vesicular breath sounds refers to the breath sounds heard over the various lung areas. The term ‘vesicular breath sounds’ was coined by Lennac. It was named so due to the belief that they are produced by air flowing through the alveoli. But it a misnomer. Vesicular breath sounds are in fact produced by the air flowing through the bronchi and the bronchioles. But they have a different character (low intensity, low pitch, expiratory phase lasting 1/3 of inspiration with no gap between expiration and inspiration) from the bronchial breath sounds …

Branch of medicine dealing with the classification of diseases.