The H1N1 Swine Flu Epidemic.

Because of an emergence of a worldwide epidemic of a new strain of the H1N1 virus better known as the ‘swine flu’, the 2009 – 2010 flu season is more uncertain than ever.

First recognized in April 2009, the H1N1 virus has caused the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years.

This virus is believed to be a reassortment of four known strains of influenza A virus:

One endemic in humans.
One endemic in birds.
And two endemic in pigs (swine).

Cooked pork products will not transmit the virus since transmission of the new strain is human-to-human.

Shut Down Mexico City.

The epidemic started in Mexico, with data that showed Mexico had already been in the middle of a pandemic for months prior to the outbreak being known.

Shortly after, the Mexican government shut down most of Mexico City’s private and public offices and facilities to assist in controlling the spread of the virus.

As the virus extended worldwide, the World Health Organization also known as ‘WHO’ acknowledged the outbreak to be a pandemic in early June, stating however that many illnesses were of moderate severity.

Overwhelmed.

A lot of clinics were overwhelmed testing and treating patients as the virus began spreading with extraordinary speed. ‘WHO’ and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stopped reporting all cases and instead they focused on the large outbreaks.

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How is it spread?
Sick Man Sneezing

This disease is spread through:

Sneezing.
Coughing.
Coming in contact with a contaminated surface and then touching the mouth or nose.

Symptoms last up to a week and are similar to those of seasonal flu, which can
include:

Fever.
Sneezes.
Sore throat.
Coughs.
Headache.
Muscle or joint pains.

The Center for Disease Control reported that although this was a very serious virus, cases worldwide were typically mild, and most hospitalizations and deaths had been of persons that also had underlying circumstances such as:

Asthma.
Diabetes.
Obesity.
Heart disease.
Weakened immune system.

The CDC recommends that anyone with symptoms stay home from school, work, and to avoid crowded places so as not to assist in the spreading of the infection. It’s also reported that wearing a facial masks provides very little to no protection.

Annually 5 – 15% of the overall population is affected by the influenza outbreak.
And although many of the cases are mild, these outbreaks remain the cause for severe illness in an estimated 3–5 million people and around 250,000–500,000 deaths globally.

In developed countries, severe illness and deaths take place primarily in the high-risk populations of:

Infants.
The elderly.
Chronically ill patients.

While the swine flu outbreak, just like the 1918 Spanish flu differs in its propensity to have an effect on younger, healthier people.

Are Some Immune?

It appears that anyone who contracted the flu before 1957 has some sort of immunity to the H1N1 virus.

An article published in the New York Time on May 20, 2009 reported: “Tests on blood serum from older people showed that they had antibodies that attacked the new virus,” Dr. Daniel Jernigan, chief flu epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a telephone news conference. “That does not mean however that everyone over 52 is immune, since some Americans and Mexicans older than that have died of the new flu.”

To help prevent the spread of flu:

Be sure to wash your hands good before touching food or face.

Always wash your hands good after using the bathroom and always use a paper towel or towel to turn off water.
Never sneeze or cough into your hands, always sneeze of cough into your sleeve.
Always wash hands with soap and water for at least 15 to 20 seconds.

~ To you health and well-being.
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The H1N1 Swine Flu Epidemic.