San Francisco: When the coughing stops is probably a better sign of when a swine flu patient is no longer contagious, experts said after seeing new research that suggests the virus can still spread many days after a fever goes away.
The federal Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has been telling people to stay home from work and school and avoid contact with others until a day after their fever
breaks. The new research suggests they may need to be careful for longer -- especially at home where the risk of spreading the germ is highest.
Swine flu also appears to be contagious longer than ordinary seasonal flu, several experts said.
"This study shows you`re not contagious for a day or two. You`re probably contagious for about a week," said Gaston De Serres, a scientist at the Institute of Public Health in
Quebec.
He presented one of the studies today at an American Society for Microbiology conference.
It is unclear whether the new research will lead the CDC to rethink its advice on how long people with swine flu should hole up.
Long breaks from school and work do not seem worth it for a virus that now seems to cause mostly mild illness, said the CDC`s flu chief, Nancy Cox. Swine flu is spreading so
widely now that confining the sick does less good, she said.
Bureau Report
