H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Virus...Symptoms and Vaccine for a Pandemic...Update

H1N1 Swine flu update 2011

As of 2011, new flu vaccines have been developed which now include the H1N1 swine flu vaccine. This means that what was once a pandemic has now become controllable. The CDC recommends that people get the new vaccine in order to be fully covered.

2010

Free immunizations are now available to nearly everyone who chooses to have one. At first only a select few were able to get the H1N1 immunization, but now there is an overabundance of the innoculations available.

In 2010, the fear of widespread deaths was primarily over, and questions were being raised about whether the World Health Organization was too quick to label the crisis a pandemic.

The accusations came from fourteen members of the Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe, a club of 47 countries, which has released a document charging that "pharmaceutical companies have influenced scientists and official agencies... to alarm governments" in order to "promote their patented drugs and vaccines".

The WHO officials defended their actions, stressing that global spread, not severity of disease, defines a pandemic.

2009...President Obama declared a state of emergency in the U.S. on October 23 to enable his government to respond more quickly to the spreading flu virus. The move was backed by both Democrats and Republicans, and allows Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to temporarily waive or modify some requirements in order to help hospitals and other health care facilities enact emergency plans to deal with the outbreak. Severe shortages of the vaccine are now being reported, but more is being promised in the future.

As of mid-October, 2009, swine flu had been reported in 46 U.S. states. Patients are increasingly being told to stay home and take medicine, rather than spread the illness with a doctor visit, making an accurate count difficult. Hospitals around the country are setting up additional temporary facilities to care for flu patients. Universities are often housing all of the sick in one dorm, but the illness continues to spread. As vaccines finally become available, both in nasal and shot form, long lines are forming at every site where the vaccine is available.

The virus seems to attack children the most, in contrast to other strains of flu, which often attack the elderly the most.

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a swine flu pandemic, after nearly 30,000 global cases had been diagnosed. The swine flu pandemic (or global epidemic) seemed to rise out of nowhere, and spread quickly. The facts are as follows: the virus was first detected in Mexico and the United States in March and April, 2009. There were many deaths in Mexico, and it seemed to be spreading quickly. The first U.S. patient with the H1N1 swine flu virus was confirmed on April 15, 2009. As the CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center, the U.S. government declared a public health emergency on April 26. By June 3, 2009, all 50 states in the U.S. had reported cases of H1N1 swine flu.

What will change, now that it's a pandemic?
WHO will now ask drug makers to work faster on a vaccine.

How is H1N1 Swine Flu Virus spread?
The virus is spread from person to person, scientists believe primarily by the coughs and sneezes of the people who have the virus.

What are the symptoms of H1N1 swine flu?
According to the CDC, the symptoms of H1N1 swine flu "are similar to the symptoms of seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people who have been infected with this virus also have reported diarrhea and vomiting. Also, like seasonal flu, severe illnesses and death has occurred as a result of illness associated with this virus."

How is it controlled? Is there a vaccine?
At this time, there is no vaccination to protect against the novel H1N1 swine flu virus. Most people have recovered without requiring medical treatment. Those who have become gravely ill from the virus often have had extenuating circumstances, such as an additional illness that weakened their immune system. The virus does not seem to mind attacking the health though, and has no age barriers.

Why is it called swine flu? Do pigs get it?
The name was mistakenly given to the flu when, according to the CDC, early "laboratory testing showed that many of the genes in this new virus were very similar to influenza viruses that normally occur in pigs in North America. But further study has shown that this new virus is very different from what normally circulates in North American pigs." Unfortunately, the name was already in use. The official name is H1N1 Swine Flu virus.

What is the latest update? Is it a pandemic?
As of now, the H1N1 swine flu is circulating all over the globe, with 144 reported deaths. Outbreaks have occured in 74 countries at this writing, including numerous European countries, central and south America, Canada, Egypt, China, the Middle East, Australia and more. Luckily, the symptoms of H1N1 swine flu are not as severe as originally thought, and the CDC has been working steadily to develop a vaccine.

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