While authorities say it's not time to panic about the swine flu outbreak, they are taking steps to stem the spread and urging people to pay close attention to the latest health warnings and take precautions. Here's what you need to know:
Q: How do I protect myself and my family?
A: For now, take common-sense precautions. Cover your coughs and sneezes, with a tissue that you throw away or by sneezing into your elbow rather than your hands. Wash hands frequently; if soap and water aren't available, hand gels can substitute. Stay home if you're sick, and keep children home from school if they aren't feeling well.
Q: How easy is it to catch this virus?
A: Scientists don't yet know if it takes fairly close or prolonged contact with someone who's sick, or if it's more easily spread. In general, flu viruses spread through uncovered coughs and sneezes or by touching your mouth or nose with unwashed hands. Flu viruses can live on surfaces for several hours, such as a doorknob just touched by someone who sneezed into his hand.
Q: In Mexico, officials are handing out face masks. Do I need one?
A: The CDC says there's not good evidence that masks really help outside of health care settings. It's safer to avoid close contact with someone who's sick and avoid crowded gatherings in places where swine flu is known to be spreading. But if you can't do that, CDC guidelines say it's OK to consider a mask -- just don't let it substitute for good precautions.
Q: Is swine flu treatable?
A: Yes, with the flu drugs Tamiflu or Relenza, but not with two older flu medications
Q: Is there enough?
A: Yes. The federal government has stockpiled enough of the drugs to treat 50 million people, and many states have additional stocks. As a precaution, the CDC has shipped a quarter of that supply to the states to keep on hand in case the virus starts spreading more than it has so far.
Q: Should I take Tamiflu as a precaution if I'm not sick?
A: No. "What are you going to do with it, use it when you get a sniffle?" asked Dr. Marc Siegel of New York University Langone Medical Center and author of "Bird Flu: Everything You Need to Know About the Next Pandemic." Overusing antiviral drugs can help germs become resistant to them.
Q: How big is my risk?
A: For most people, very low. Outside of Mexico, clusters of illnesses seem related to Mexican travel. New York City's cluster, for instance, consists of students and family members at one school where some students came back ill from spring break in Mexico.
Q: Why are people dying in Mexico and not here?
A: That's a mystery. First, understand that no one really knows just how many people in Mexico are dying of this flu strain, or how many have it. Only a fraction of the suspected deaths have been tested and confirmed as swine flu, and some initially suspected cases were caused by something else.
Q: Should I cancel my planned trip to Mexico?
A: The United States issued a travel advisory Monday discouraging nonessential travel there.
Q: What else is the United States, or anyone else, doing to try to stop this virus?
A: The United States is beginning limited screening of travelers from Mexico, so that the obviously sick can be sent for treatment. Other governments have issued travel warnings and restrictions.
Mexico is taking the biggest steps, closings that limit most crowded gatherings. In the United States, communities with the illness may limit contact -- a Sacramento area school, St. Mel's, was closed, for example, after one case was reported -- so stay tuned to hear if your area is affected. Two more cases cropped up at the Fair Oaks school Monday.
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