Before the H1N1 pandemic the influenza A(H1N1) had not been known to be a cause of infection in people. There were early reports of outbreaks in North America in April 2009 and by the time WHO declared it a pandemic in June 2009 the disease had spread to 74 countries.
Unlike seasonal flu which is more common in colder months, the 2009 H1N1 caused more infections in the summer and continued to spread in autumn and winter. It also caused more severe illness and death than usual. The pandemic officially ended in August 2010, but the virus now circulates as a regular seasonal flu.
The symptoms of the 2009 H1N1 virus were similar to regular flu:
The illness was usually mild and passed within one to two weeks. However, some people developed a viral pneumonia that is not normally seen in seasonal flu.
Like most cases of flu treatment involved relieving symptoms. This included taking pain relief, drinking plenty of fluids and rest.
An antiviral called oseltamivir was also available to treat H1N1 (it also treats other types of flu). For those with more serious flu that required hospitalisation, intravenous fluids and antibiotics to treat secondary infection were also administered.
Most cases of the 2009 H1N1 flu were mild, but it could cause serious illness or death in some people. Those at higher risk included:
Unusually, the 2009 swine flu pandemic affected people under the age of 60 more than those over – flu usually hits older people hard. Those over the age of 60 were thought to have some immunity from previous outbreaks of similar flu types. Like other flus, disease was transmitted via respiratory droplets, when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The virus was also spread by touching surfaces contaminated with respiratory droplets and then touching the face, especially the eyes, nose, or mouth.
The 2009 H1N1 virus is now part of the regular flu vaccine, which is given to those in high risk groups. The usual flu prevention measures can help you avoid spreading it – wash your hands, cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, stay at home if you are ill.
The 2009 H1N1 virus was first detected in Mexico and the United States in April 2009 and then quickly spread around the world – with a pandemic being declared in June that year. There were fears that it would rival the great pandemics of 1918 and 1968 but these did not materialise. In August 2010 the WHO declared that the threat was over. There are now sporadic cases of the disease.
At the time, WHO said there had been around 18,000 laboratory confirmed deaths from the disease but acknowledged that was likely to be an underestimate. An analysis by the US Centers for Disease Control in 2012 put the true figure at around 284,000.
At the time of the outbreak WHO was criticised for both being slow to declare a pandemic and for overreacting to it. The UK government was later criticised for wasting money by stockpiling doses of oseltamivir that it then had to destroy.
Protect yourself and your family by learning more about Global Health Security
此内容由惯性聚合(RSS阅读器)自动聚合整理，仅供阅读参考。 原文来自 — 版权归原作者所有。