While there have been a number of outbreaks of the new strain of swine flu, there also have emerged a whole gamut of misinformation. Now, scientists have elaborated exactly what one needs to know about this new epidemic.

Infectious disease expert Charles Ericsson, M.D., professor of internal medicine and director of Travel Medicine at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, has answered some questions regarding swine flu, which are as follows:

1. How do symptoms of swine flu differ from other types of flu?

None, really, although this flu might include gastrointestinal symptoms (diarrhea and vomiting), as well as the usual respiratory symptoms. The basic symptoms for swine flu are similar to the seasonal flu we are vaccinated for each year, which may include, fever, sore throat, cough, stuffy nose, chills, headache and body aches, fatigue.

2. Is there medication for this?

Yes, Tamiflu or Relenza have shown to be effective against these recently reported strains of swine flu. Altogether, there are four anti-viral drugs that we commonly use to treat various strains of flu.

3. Is there a vaccine?

Not yet, but the CDC has this current strain of virus and will consider whether to add it to next year's flu vaccine as time goes on.

4. Can I catch it from pigs?

No. This strain is one that is communicable through human-to-human contact. It is a mutated form of a swine virus.