|
On Thursday 11 June 2009 the World Health Organization has declared Phase 6 of its pandemic alert system The UK formally moved from a 'containment' to a 'treatment' phase for swine flu on 2 July. The virus has spread quickly because it is a new type of virus that few, if any, people have resistance to. Phase 6 means that H1N1 (swine) flu is now spreading in communities in several countries. This decision reflects the geographic spread of the virus and not its severity. Official reports say there have been nearly 30,000 cases globally and 141 deaths, with figures rising daily. It is the first flu pandemic in 40 years, the last in 1968 killed about one million people. However, the current pandemic seems to be moderate and causes only mild illness in most people. In the UK, there have been more than 800 cases, and England's chief medical officer said the WHO declaration of a pandemic would not significantly change the way the UK was dealing with swine flu at the moment, but he did add that there could be some minor changes to who received antivirals. Flu expert Professor John Oxford said people should not panic as the outbreak was milder than others seen in the past century. Swine influenza is a respiratory disease normally found in pigs but human cases can and do happen. This strain of swine influenza contains a combination of genetic material typical to avian, swine and human flu viruses. Transmission of this new swine influenza virus is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu. Antiviral drugs are available which can effectively prevent and treat the infection, most reported cases of this infection outside of Mexico have recovered fully without the need for medical attention or antivirals. |
