If the fast spread of H1N1 isn’t enough, the latest calculations by Britain’s Department of Health show that swine flu could result in 65,000 deaths in Britain.
Sir Liam Donaldson, the Chief Medical Officer, said that the scenario of 65,000 deaths was based on 30 per cent of the population – around 18 million people – becoming ill. But the actual figure could be anywhere between 3,000 and 750,000 fatalities, he added.
Wow… if the pandemic doesn’t seem real enough to you just yet, take a look at the latest report from the World Health Organization. This pandemic is spreading fast and furious.
As the 2009 pandemic evolves, the data needed for risk assessment, both within affected countries and at the global level, are also changing.
At this point, further spread of the pandemic, within affected countries and to new countries, is considered inevitable.
This assumption is fully backed by experience. The 2009 influenza pandemic has spread internationally with unprecedented speed. In past pandemics, influenza viruses have needed more than six months to spread as widely as the new H1N1 virus has spread in less than six weeks.
Wow, when I saw the headline, I knew that I had to write about this. Lately the news has been about other things, which has served to distract from the pandemic that we’re now facing. Things like Jon and Kate Plus Eight (which I’m not too broken up about at all, just sad for the kids really) and the election in Iran have been all over the headlines for a few weeks, and it’s been a welcome change from Swine Flu. But I fear that has caused it to be out of sight/out of mind, as the problem hasn’t gone away with the trend.
The World Health Organization has, today, made it official. H1N1, also known as Swine Flu, is a pandemic. The first declared pandemic in many years. While there haven’t yet been a lot of deaths resulting from Swine Flu, the fact that so many are infected by it, and it has nearly spread to all corners of the globe means a lot.
Here we have the announcement in full, as I think it’s easier to read here than on the WHO’s website. You can either click that link to read the announcement on their website, or click “read more” to read it here.
It has been confirmed that H1N1, commonly known as swine flu, has reached all fifty states. Tests have found the virus in more than 10,000 people across the nation, with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirming that the tests account for a mere 1 in 20 of actual infections. This would bring the total of infected americans to 200,000.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the new strain of H1N1 flu is in 48 states, with more than 5,000 confirmed cases and six deaths. The CDC experts believe it likely that more than 100,000 people are infected with the virus. It worries experts because, although it appears mild, most patients are young adults, teens and children. The spread also appears to be continuing beyond the traditional end of flu season in the U.S.
Respirator Masks
With the swine flu outbreak leading many to go for masks, including as far away as Sydney, Australia’s airport, you have to wonder how much a mask can actually help. Apparently they are becoming hot items online. While the thought is understandable, experts are skeptical about the usefulness of the masks.
Professor John Oxford, a virologist at The Barts and the London, explains: “Really, there is very little evidence that masks actually offer much protection against flu. I think handing them out to the public, as has happened in Mexico, just destroys confidence.”
A group of nuns walk wearing surgical masks in the Zocalo plaza in Mexico City, Saturday, April 25, 2009
Swine Flu has begun a quick spread and has been spreading at an insane rate. While the CDC website hasn’t yet been updated to reflect this, the news says that the number of reported cases in the United States has doubled today, from twenty to forty. It’s something that we all want to be able to track to make sure that we stay safe from the reaches of Swine Flu.
Thus, I’ve created a list of ways that you can keep track of Swine Flu online, as well as other flus, if you’d like to. It’s not a list that is exclusive to Swine Flu.
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