The frequent washing of the hands with water and soap, use of wet antibacterial wipes and covering of the mouth with a handkerchief when coughing or sneezing, disinfection of the surfaces, wearing of facial and respiratory masks help prevent pandemic flu. The measures have been recommended by the National Scientific and Practical Center of Preventive Medicine, Info-Prim Neo reports. The list of measures also includes having a good sleep, eating food rich in proteins, vitamins and minerals and having an active lifestyle. The symptoms of the A (H1N1) flu virus are similar to the symptoms of common seasonal flu and include: fever, sore throat, cough, chills and fatigue, runny and stuffy nose, body aches, headache, occasionally vomiting and diarrhea. Persons who experience flu-like symptoms should contact their physician immediately and should avoid going out in public. Because influenza symptoms are nonspecific, it can be difficult to determine if a person has influenza based on symptoms alone. Nonetheless, decisions for clinical management, particularly for outpatients, in most cases can be made on the basis of clinical and epidemiological information. In general, the incubation period for influenza is estimated to range from 1 to 4 days with an average of 2 days. Influenza virus shedding (the time during which a person might be infectious to another person) begins the day before illness onset and can persist for 5 to 7 days, although some persons may shed virus for longer periods, particularly young children and severely immunocompromised persons. The amount of virus shed is greatest in the first 2-3 days of illness and appears to correlate with fever, with higher amounts of virus shed when temperatures are highest. Transmission of influenza through the air over longer distances is thought not to occur. All respiratory secretions and bodily fluids of patients with 2009 H1N1 influenza are considered to be potentially infectious. The pandemic flu caused two deaths in Moldova so far.