How long is swine flu contagious?
In a study presented by Institute of Public Health in Quebec, shows you’re not contagious for a day or 2. Instead, you’re probably contagious for about a week according to Gaston De Serres, a scientist with the institute. Swine flu also appears to be contagious longer than ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been telling people to stay home from work and school and avoid contact with others until a day after their fever breaks, but the new research sees it differently. De Serres and other researchers in Canada took nose and throat swabs from 43 patients with lab-confirmed flu and dozens of other sick family members. On the 8th day after symptoms 1st appeared, 19 to 75 percent showed signs of virus remaining in their noses, depending on the type of test used. “This proportion appears to be very big, and it is,” but it’s not clear how much virus is needed to actually spread flu, so the lower number is more reliable, he sai
