Swine Impact

flu h1n1 usa

Swine Flu Is Worldwide

Some strains of swine flu, including the one that has emerged recently from Mexico, are known to belong to the same subtype H1N1 as the Spanish flu. But the classical swine flu virus (an H1N1 subtype of type A influenza virus) wasn’t isolated from a pig until 1930, so the connection between the Spanish flu and swine flu hasn’t been clear.

One of the reasons the two strains of the virus were not strongly connected was because they had dramatically different impacts.

The Spanish flu, first identified in May 1918 in Spain, was lethal, killing at least 21 million people worldwide. It also was known to induce a lethal infection in a host of other animals, including ferrets, mice and macaques, a primate found in Europe and Asia. It also caused many death in the USA.

The swine flu that first appeared in 1918, on the other hand, did not have the same impact on pigs, causing only a mild respiratory illness, leaving some to suggest they were not closely related.

On April 29, the director of the World Health Organization, Margaret Chan, M.D., announced, “Based on assessment of all available information, and following several expert consultations, I have decided to raise the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5.” Phase 5 would mean we’ve reached the level of pandemic. WHO is considering raising the alert to phase 6. Presently, there is no vaccine to prevent this specific strain, and it will take 13 weeks from the point of swine flu discovery for one to developed.

New cases in Mexico are on the decline and seem to be less severe. In the United States 226 cases have been identified in 30 states and 30 persons have been hospitalized. Also, many schools have been closed to avoid further spreading of the flu. Canada has reported 70 cases.

Response actions are aggressive, but they may vary across states and communities depending on local circumstances. Communities, businesses, places of worship, schools and individuals can all take action to slow the spread of this outbreak. People who are sick are urged to stay home from work or school and to avoid contact with others, except to seek medical care. This action can avoid spreading illness further

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Tags: flu, h1n1, health, influenza, swineflu