Swine FluJust another Totalaccessnet.com Blogs weblog

The 2009 outbreak of swine flu or H1N1 virus is recently hugging the

limelight due to the potential harm or effects it can have on a patient or

on a community. Unfortunately, the source of the virus still cannot be

traced.

Before the first case in the United States was discovered, the illness was

believed to have started in Mexico which eventually spread to other

countries. Recently, the first case of swine flu was reported in
Costa Rica. Alarmed that it could grow into a worldwide flu epidemic, the

World Health Organization of the United Nations and the Center for Disease

Control Prevention (CDC) in the United States raised its pandemic alert

level to Phase 5, which signifies that a “pandemic is imminent.”
While experts believed that the recent outbreak is not as fatal as previous

epidemics, such as the SARS virus, health officials believe that the number

of cases could go up as the new flu is expected to make its way throughout

the United States.

The new swine influenza strain is apparently a new variant of four strains

of influenza A virus subtype H1N1. According to the Center for Disease

Control and Prevention, one of the strain is endemic in humans and birds

and a couple are endemic in pigs.

However, according to scientists the 2009 H1N1 outbreak is of swine origin

which is associated with the virus isolated in North America in 1998. To

hasten understanding of the current outbreak as well as in coming up with a

vaccine, scientists from Canada have completed the full genetic sequencing

of the H1N1 virus.

The new strain of H1N1 has become widespread in Mexico and the United

States with confirmed cases in 18 countries and suspected cases in 42

others. Travelers have been warned not to travel to affected countries such

as Iceland, Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore, to name

a few.

In addition, warnings have also been issued warnings to visitors of

countries affected by the outbreak. It is advisable for visitors to see the

doctor right away if they experience flu-like symptoms.
In Mexico, schools, universities, and all public events were suspended from

April 24 to May 6, 2009. In the United States, over 400 schools were closed

as of May 3, 2009, which included schools in Texas and about 250,000

confirmed or probable cases.

Dr. Keiji Fukuda, who is the Assistant Director-General for Health Securiy

and Environment of the World Health Organization confirmed that efforts to

control the outbreak is already too late and should now focus on lessening

the effects of the virus. He also clarified that closing borders or

limiting travel to infected areas will do little in stopping the spread of

the H1N1 virus.

On April 28, 2009, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention suggested

that as much as possible, people should avoid non-important travel to

Mexico.

According to Dr. Ira Longini, who is an expert in the mathematics and

statistics of epidemics, staying at home, seeking medical care, closing

public venues, and making anti-flu medicines accessible can help reduce the

sickness by almost two-thirds.

Finally, according to Dr. Longini, the focus of efforts is to slow

transmission until there is a vaccine that can be developed and made

available for controlling swine flu outbreaks.