Posts Tagged ‘Outbreak’

The Lowdown on The 2009 Swine Flu Outbreak

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.

Dr. Bill Deagle Interview – Swine Flu Outbreak 1/4

24th April 2009 Dr. Bill Deagle Rense Interview – Swine Flu Outbreak www.rense.com

Swine flu outbreak in remote community

Swine flu outbreak in remote community
The Northern Territory Centre for Disease Control says there has been a swine flu outbreak in a remote Arnhem Land community.

Read more on Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Swine Flu Outbreak in California

The Swine Flu Pandemic is spreading in California. comprartamiflu.com

Swine-flu outbreak fears at Wimbledon Championships

28 staff have now been told to stay at home after suffering flu-like symptoms.. Follow us on twitter at twitter.com

Eight Business Lessons Learned From the Swine Flu – H1N1 Outbreak

We have learned the following eight lessons:

1. Companies that had developed and tested their business pandemic response plan had the most success in managing the impact of the outbreak.

2.  The H1N1 virus spread more rapidly than expected.  Our assumptions were based on the belief that a pandemic would start in Asia and the spread would be relatively slow. It didnâ??t. Business pandemic response plans must be adaptable to changing conditions and designed to respond appropriately to the severity of an outbreak.

3. School closings had a major impact on numbers of employees reporting for work. Employers found they needed to be more flexible with their work-from-home options.

4. The health care system was overwhelmed with only a mild outbreak.

5. Firms with a global presence found that it was difficult to manage a global crisis with one single message. Communication plans need to develop appropriate messages for both domestic and overseas audiences.

6. Travel policies need to be adaptable to variables such as: the necessity of the trip, the likelihood of the employeeâ??s exposure to crowds, the individualâ??s health condition, the severity of the event, etc.

7. International coordination was more complicated than expected.

8. Some shipments were stopped and sent back by customs authorities.

These results tell us that the business community is not fully prepared for a severe pandemic influenza. Most H1N1 (Swine Flu) cases have been mild, though pandemics often have a second wave and health officials say the strain could mutate and become more severe as it did in 1918 Spanish Flu. As we approach the seasonal flu season, there is a short window for businesses to develop or fine tune their business pandemic response plan.

A year later, 5 lessons from swine flu outbreak

A year later, 5 lessons from swine flu outbreak
In some ways the nation got lucky that this past year’s H1N1 pandemic was not more severe.

Read more on USA Today