Swine Flu Update: Virus Spreads & 5700 Dead
Epidemic Spreads Worldwide as Cases Keep Increasing
May 27, 2009
As of November 1, 2009, there were two major conerns:
- Getting the new vaccine out in time to save thousands of lives, including people in underdeveloped nations.
- How long there will continue to be increased cases of widespread swine flu around the globe.
One concern is that there is no way to measure how many cases have not been reported, notably because the symptoms resemble those of other types of flu. Many who have a light case of flu caused by this new Type A H1N1 virus will not even see a doctor.
Vaccine is in production. In many places, including the United States, initial shipments targeted for at-risk patients, were made in mid-October. The vaccine should be ready for all U. S. residents by the end of the year.
As of mid October, the highest rate of new cases was in North America, the most being in the United States.
School Closures and Other Containment Measures
The World Health Organization believes some schools in Europe and North America may have to close, but there is an economic issue at stake. How will working parents see that young students are supervised at home?
Priests are being asked not to put wafers on the tongues of communicants. Swiss supermarkets are considering requiring customers to disinfect hands and wear a face mask upon entering the store. In China, masked officials board planes and point temperature guns at passenger foreheads. Those with fever are quarantined for a minimum of seven days.
Range and Symptoms of Swine Flu
Cases of swine flu have ranged from those with a non-febrile, upper respiratory tract illness to severe or fatal pneumonia. Most cases appear to have uncomplicated, typical flu type illness, from which they can recover in a normal way.
The most commonly reported symptoms are a cough, fever, sore throat, malaise and headache. Some patients have not had a fever. United States health officials report that gastrointestinal symptoms, such as nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, have appeared in up to 38% of U. S. cases. Fewer than 10% of the North American flu patients have been admitted to a hospital.
Swine Flu in Patients with Other Health Conditions
Almost half of the United States patients who were hospitalized had such underlying conditions as asthma, other lung diseases, diabetes, morbid obesity, autoimmune disorders, neurological disorders and cardiovascular disease.
Pregnant women are among high risk patients needing hospitalization. Complications can cause spontaneous abortion.
Read More About the New Flu Virus
There are several sources which give detailed information about the new Influenza A (H1N1) virus and patients who have had it. These resources are all available online:
- Update: New Virus Influenza, Regional Report, by Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC.
- “Emergence of a Novel Swine-Origin Influenza Virus in Humans,” by the A (H1N1) investigation team, New England Journal of Medicine, May 7, 2009.
- “Epidemiology of New Influenza A(H1N1) in the United Kingdom,” April-May edition of Eurosurveillance.
- “Update: Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Infections Worldwide,” Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, U. S. Centers for Disease Control.
- Reports by the Ontario Ministry of Health and the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control.
Beginning in mid-October of 2009, six months after the swine flu pandemic was announced, this article will be updated twice monthly as long as cases of swine flu continue to increase.
(Also see articles on the history of swine flu, resources for dealing with the flu, and answers to some common questions about swine flu.)
SOURCE: World Health Organization (WHO), Geneva, Switzerland, the health coordinating arm of the United Nations.
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