The Swine Flu Pandemic (Article 355: .5 Clock Hour) (Report)
Journal of Continuing Education Topics & Issues 2009, August, 11, 3
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Descripción editorial
In March, 2009, Mexico announced an outbreak of several cases of an unusual deadly respiratory infection. On April 18, a laboratory in the United States reported two human cases of swine flu, a variant of a substrain of H1N1 Influenza Type A virus. The first confirmed cases were in southern California and near Guadalupe County, Texas. A week later, on April 25, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the swine flu outbreak in North America. On April 29, the International Health Organization emergency committee raised the pandemic flu from phase 4 to phase 5. By the beginning of May, 2009, 21 countries reported 1,124 cases of swine flu. Mexico had reported 590 cases with 25 deaths and the United States had reported 286 cases with one death. No deaths had been reported at that time in the remaining 19 countries. Five pupils from five schools in England were diagnosed with the A/H1N1 virus causing closure of the schools (three in London, one each in Devon and South Gloucester). By June, 2009, there were 36,022 confirmed cases of A/H1N1 infection in 76 countries including 164 deaths. The WHO officially declared the outbreak as pandemic. Scotland's health secretary Nicola Sturgeon reported a "significant number of A/H1N1 cases in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde area." Prof. Liam Donaldson, England's Chief medical officer, warned general practitioners as well as hospital and public health doctors to be prepared as first responders. By June 15, Australia reported 1,500 cases of confirmed swine flu mostly in one state, Victoria. Given the widespread virulence of the A/H1N1 virus across many countries, containment such as border control has become an ineffective means of control and could only lead to political tension. However, many countries have recommended restriction to travel.