Dr. Richard Besser, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s acting director admitted yesterday the situation was worrisome, especially in border states like Texas.

Here are some quick facts on swine flu, its causes and ways to treat the condition.

What is swine influenza (flu)?
Swine flu is exactly that - it is the occurrence of influenza infection in pigs. It is basically a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC), "Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs."

What is swine flu infection in humans?
Humans rarely get infected with the swine flu virus because cases have been sporadic. Swine flu in humans is usually seen in people who are directly exposed to pigs. The virus causes a great deal of morbidity in humans, but so far a pandemic has not resulted.

What are the signs and symptoms in patients infected with swine flu?
The symptoms of this flu are pretty similar to the one that occurs seasonally in humans. Thus fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea are commonly reported.

Can I get swine flu from eating pork?
No, consuming well-cooked pork is not a risk factor for this condition. By cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus is destroyed, so there is no worry about getting infected.

Is swine flu contagious?
Human-to-human transmission of swine flu has been known to occur. The CDC reports that there were documented cases of swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 that resulted in multiple human infections, "although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient."

How is swine flu treated?
There are four anti-viral drugs available to treat swine flu in the US. They include amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. However consumers must be aware that the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine.

Where can I get more information on the swine flu outbreak?
For more information, please visit, the CDC at www.cdc.gov