2009 swine flu outbreak
posted on 01 May 2009 16:53 by bangkokbooking
The 2009 swine flu outbreak is a spread of new strain of influenza virus that began in March 2009. The new virus strain is known as the influenza A (H1N1) virus, and the outbreak has also been variously called the H1N1 influenza, the 2009 H1N1 flu, the North-American flu, or the Mexican flu.
Local outbreaks of an influenza-like illness were first detected in three areas of Mexico, but the virus responsible was not clinically identified as a new strain until April 24, 2009. Following the identification, its presence was soon confirmed in various Mexican states and in Mexico City. Within days, isolated cases (and suspected cases) were identified elsewhere in Mexico, the U.S., and several other countries.
By April 28, the new strain was confirmed to have spread to Spain, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Israel, and the virus was suspected in many other nations, with a total of over 3,000 candidate cases, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to change its pandemic alert phase to "Phase 5", which is defined as "...human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region. While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short". Despite the scale of the alert, WHO officials noted on April 29 that the majority of people infected with the virus have made a full recovery without need of medical attention or antiviral drugs.
The new strain is an apparent reassortment of four strains of influenza A virus subtype H1N1.Analysis at the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) identified the four component strains as one endemic in humans, one endemic in birds, and two endemic in pigs (swine). One swine strain was widespread in the United States, the other in Eurasia. Although called swine flu due to it predominantly containing swine strains, the World Organisation for Animal Health have proposed the name North American influenza because this new strain in its entirety has not been found in swine (pigs). Worldwide the common human H1N1 influenza virus affects millions of people every year, according to WHO officials, and "these annual epidemics result in about three to five million cases of severe illness, and about 250,000 to 500,000 deaths." In industrialized countries most of these deaths occur in those 65 or older.
In late April officials from both WHO and the CDC expressed serious concern about the situation, as the virus had the potential to become a flu pandemic due to the novelty of the influenza strain, its transmission from human to human, and the unusually high mortality rate in Mexico. On April 25, 2009, the WHO formally determined the situation to be a "public health emergency of international concern", with knowledge lacking in regard to "the clinical features, epidemiology, and virology of reported cases and the appropriate responses". Government health agencies around the world also expressed concerns over the outbreak and are monitoring the situation closely. By April 30, 300 U.S. schools had closed as the disease became more widespread in the U.S. The Mexican government ordered a multi-day shutdown of all non-essential activities in the government and private sector, amounting to a shutdown of most of the country's economy.
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