Why is Swine Flu Incubation Important?

Swine flu is a variant of the flu that first appeared in Mexico several years ago. When it first appeared it caused a scare because of how dangerous it appeared, but it has not spread as far or been as dangerous as it first seemed it would. Like almost all infectious diseases, swine flu has an incubation period. A disease's incubation period is the time between when a person is infected and when they first show symptoms. The incubation period of any new flu tends to be a concern because the Spanish flu. The Spanish flu caused the pandemic during World War I that killed millions, and part of the reason it was able to spread so far was that it had a very long incubation period. Today, with air travel and packages being shipped everywhere; even a slightly long incubation period would be enough to spread a new infectious disease pretty much everywhere. This is especially true for any infectious disease that first appears in a large city with lots of travellers coming in and out every day. So when the swine flu first emerged, there was a lot of attention paid to how long the incubation period was, and how far it might have spread before doctors were even aware it existed. Luckily, the swine flu didn't have a particularly long incubation, averaging 2-5 days. It also wasn't nearly as dangerous as it first seemed as long as good medical care is available. Between the short incubation period, and not being as dangerous as the doctors first thought, the swine flu never became the epidemic many feared. At this point it seems that the swine flu will remain one of the many types of flus floating around. Anyone who is worried about the swine flu should talk with a doctor about their whether or not a vaccination is available in their area.