H1N1 Swine flu: a new pandemic on the way?

[webfact]

H1N1 Swine flu: a new pandemic on the way?
By Robert Hackwill



LONDON: -- An outbreak of swine flu in eastern Europe is claiming lives and causing a stir in the media.

A major H1N1 outbreak sparked a World Health Organization pandemic alert in June 2009, after the virus emerged from Mexico and the United States.

The outbreak killed around 18,500 people in 214 countries. The alert was lifted in August 2010. Since then bird flu has become a pressing preoccupation, but swine flu has the potential to be a global killer. So should we be worried?

Armenia has reported 18 deaths, with neighbouring Georgia three, but both countries say the victims had complications and sought treatment far too late, and there is no question of an epidemic.

In Russia at least 17 people have died and hundreds have been hospitalised, and Ukraine says there have been 50 deaths there, with the flu virus especially rampant in the Russian-occupied east of the country.

Iran says the virus is also claiming lives there in the country’s first ever large outbreak of the H1N1 strain. At least 112 people have died, concentrated in the south-east of the country.

The health authorities in India have embarked on a big public awareness campaign following a second death from the disease. Swine flu is of special concern in India, with its dense urban populations and poor sanitation.

Of course seasonal influenza occurs every year and the viruses change each year, and many people have some immunity to the circulating virus that helps limit infections. Some countries also use seasonal influenza vaccines to reduce illness and deaths.

By contrast, the H1N1 was a new virus when it emerged and most people had no or little immunity to it, giving it pandemic potential. One of the lessons from history is that influenza pandemics can kill millions, and there was no pandemic influenza vaccine at the outset.

Now H1N1 treatments have been developed but their effectiveness has been questioned, hence the media panic at any sign that it may be making a comeback. If you think you may be at risk, or want to know more about the disease, the World Health Organisation has prepared a factsheet.

A fuller, more informative description of swine flu can be found here.


-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-01-22

[trogers]

Isn't this the virus that killed millions in the 2nd decade of 1900s?

[rethaier]

Advertising to scare us into buying vaccines that are dubious and don't help at best

[fvw53]

Isn't this the virus that killed millions in the 2nd decade of 1900s?

No the "chicken flu" - known also as the Spanish flu because they detected it first - and which killed more 20 miilion people in Europe and nearly 50 million worldwide was a H5N1 virus or "avian virus"

https://virus.stanford.edu/uda/

[Krataiboy]

If the mosquitoes don't get you, the chickens and pigs will.

[Scott]

Advertising to scare us into buying vaccines that are dubious and don't help at best

One conspiracy post has been removed.

By all means feel free not to get vaccinated if you don't wish to, but I wonder how many of these people who have died were vaccinated. Probably none or very, very few.

I doubt that Russia and some of the former satellite countries as well as Iran are going to assist in the western conspiracy of selling needless vaccinations.

Please stay on the topic.

[fvw53]

Advertising to scare us into buying vaccines that are dubious and don't help at best

One conspiracy post has been removed.

By all means feel free not to get vaccinated if you don't wish to, but I wonder how many of these people who have died were vaccinated. Probably none or very, very few.

I doubt that Russia and some of the former satellite countries as well as Iran are going to assist in the western conspiracy of selling needless vaccinations.

Please stay on the topic.

Well done by Admin : the first vaccins against flu were developed only in 1945 (ask Google for Timeline of vaccins)

[BangkokKen]

Let me guess

The vaccines are going to be ready right in time for new school year???

[steve654]

Advertising to scare us into buying vaccines that are dubious and don't help at best

One conspiracy post has been removed.

By all means feel free not to get vaccinated if you don't wish to, but I wonder how many of these people who have died were vaccinated. Probably none or very, very few.

I doubt that Russia and some of the former satellite countries as well as Iran are going to assist in the western conspiracy of selling needless vaccinations.

Please stay on the topic.

Didn't one of the inventors of the polio vaccine himself say he was the biggest contributor to the amount of cases of polio after using his vaccine? He also mentioned that polio ran it's way naturally until it mostly disappeared and this had nothing to do with the vaccine. It astounds me that to this day so many people are so uneducated about vaccines.

[Scott]

Advertising to scare us into buying vaccines that are dubious and don't help at best

One conspiracy post has been removed.

By all means feel free not to get vaccinated if you don't wish to, but I wonder how many of these people who have died were vaccinated. Probably none or very, very few.

I doubt that Russia and some of the former satellite countries as well as Iran are going to assist in the western conspiracy of selling needless vaccinations.

Please stay on the topic.

Didn't one of the inventors of the polio vaccine himself say he was the biggest contributor to the amount of cases of polio after using his vaccine? He also mentioned that polio ran it's way naturally until it mostly disappeared and this had nothing to do with the vaccine. It astounds me that to this day so many people are so uneducated about vaccines.

I don't know what any of the inventors of the polio vaccine have said, but I do know that some of the areas with the highest rate of polio are places where vaccination is not permitted, such as in Afghanistan where the Taliban won't allow it.

This topic, however, is about the Swine flu.

Influenza vaccines are usually updated about twice a year. It is an educated guess as to what virus will be most prevalent.

Prior to the last big flu scare in Thailand, the local health authorities showed up to provide vaccinations to students and teachers. Parents had to sign a release forum, which had been sent home the day before. Quite a number of students did not return with the permission slip. Also some teachers opted out of vaccination. During the actual outbreak not one vaccinated person contracted the flu. Some classes had 10 -15% of the students sick, but none of the vaccinated ones. Of the teachers, the only ones that got sick were those who were not vaccinated.

One conspiracy post has been removed