Swine Flu Might Be Even More Contagious

SAN FRANCISCO -- People infected with the swine flu (or H1N1 pandemic flu) strain continue to shed virus after the point where current recommendations say they can go back to work or school, two studies suggested Tuesday.

The question, experts said, is whether those people are still contagious and whether a longer stay-at-home period would prevent enough additional infections outweigh the cost.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control currently says people should wait at least a day after their fever subsides -- usually three or four days after the onset of symptoms -- before resuming normal activities.

But patients can continue to shed virus for several days after that, according to data presented at the annual Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

Even so, detection of virus doesn't necessarily mean contagion, said Dr. Gaston De Serres, of Laval University in Quebec City.

"We detected live virus," he told reporters. "We cannot say (patients are) contagious but they have the potential to be." Link...