Swine Flu Concerns

Swine Flu is now designated as pandemic by the World Health Organization. But what is a pandemic?

A pandemic (from Greek παν pan all + δήμος demos people) is an epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide.

This is the first global flu epidemic in 41 years. According to WHO Chief, Margaret Chan "The world is moving into the early days of its first influenza pandemic in the 21st Century. The virus is now unstoppable." Chan added that they do not for see a jump in severe or fatal infections. According to WHO, 74 countries have reported 28,744 cases of swine flu and 144 deaths. The agency claims that most cases are mild and do not require treatment, however they fear panic and increased infections could overwhelm hospitals and health officials.

The last pandemic was the Hong Kong Flu of 1968 which killed 1 million people. Ordinary flu viruseskill 250,000 to 500,000 people each year. Normally flu viruses dissipate in summer, however swine flu seems to be resilient. WHO is now recommending that the production begin for a swine flu vaccine, however drug giant GlaxoSmithKline PLC said it could be months before large quantities of the vaccine could be produced. In the United States there have been 13,000 reported cases of swine flu and 27 deaths according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.

The U.S. Government has already increased the availability of flu fighting medicines. They have also authorized $1 billion dollars for the development of a new swine flu vaccine. New cases seem to be declining in the U.S. as it winds down it's traditional flu season. There is concern that the virus could mutate into a stronger virus in the future.

The U.S. Government has already been treating the virus as though it were a pandemic, so officials will change little about their procedure and approach to treatment of the virus. Since the first reports in the US back in April of the swine flu virus, scientist have found it to be not worse than the average seasonal flu. Dr. Thomas, Chief of the Centers for Disease Control said that people should not over react to the pandemic declaration.