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Personal Health Practices:

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
  Use waterless sanitizing gel if soap and water are unavailable.
  
  
• Wash your hands:
  
  
  • After sneezing, coughing, blowing your nose or
    using any shared keyboards, phones or tools.
    
    
  • Prior to touching your face, mouth or nose and
    before eating.
    
    
  • After contact with any ill person.
    
    
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you
  cough or sneeze.
  
  
• Put used tissues in a waste basket.
  
  
• Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve
  if you don't have a tissue.
  
  
• Keep your distance - at least 3 feet or 1 meter -
  from people who are ill, coughing or sneezing.
  
  
• Drink plenty of fluids, eat sensibly, avoid exhaustion
  and exercise in moderation.
  
  
• In a pandemic, avoid crowds and public transport.
  
  

Vaccines: If available, you should get a seasonal vaccine (a flu shot) every year. A specific pandemic influenza vaccine cannot be produced until a pandemic flu virus strain emerges and is identified. Once a pandemic flu virus has been identified, it will likely take 4-6 months to develop, test and begin producing a vaccine.


Antiviral Medications: A number of antiviral drugs are approved to treat and sometimes prevent seasonal flu. Some of these antivirals may be effective in treating pandemic flu. These drugs may help prevent infection in people at risk and shorten the duration of symptoms of those infected with influenza. However, it is unlikely that antivirals alone would effectively contain the spread of pandemic flu.

Governments around the world are stockpiling antivirals that would most likely be used in the early stages of an influenza pandemic. Prescription antiviral drugs can help prevent the disease if you have been exposed and can be used to treat pandemic flu, but supplies may be limited.