What is a influenza ?
Influenza is a viral infection that affects mainly the nose, throat, bronchi and, occasionally, lungs. Infection usually lasts for about a week, and is characterized by sudden onset of high fever, aching muscles, headache and severe malaise, non-productive cough, sore throat and rhinitis.
The virus is transmitted easily from person to person via droplets and small particles produced when infected people cough or sneeze. Influenza tends to spread rapidly in seasonal epidemics.
Most infected people recover within one to two weeks without requiring medical treatment. However, in the very young, the elderly, and those with other serious medical conditions, infection can lead to severe complications of the underlying condition, pneumonia and death.
source: here.
What is phase 6?
Phase 6 is a pandemic, according to the WHO definition.
source: here.
WHO pandemic phase descriptions [pdf 456kb]
What about severity?
At this time, WHO considers the overall severity of the influenza pandemic to be moderate.
The moderate assessment reflects that:
1. Most people recover from infection without the need for hospitalization or medical care.
2. Overall, national levels of severe illness from influenza A(H1N1) appear similar to levels seen during local seasonal influenza periods, although high levels of disease have occurred in some local areas and institutions.
3. Overall, hospitals and health care systems in most countries have been able to cope with the numbers of people seeking care, although some facilities and systems have been stressed in some localities.
Large outbreaks of disease have not yet been reported in many countries, and the full clinical spectrum of disease is not yet known.
source and full text: here.
What do I do now? What actions should I look for in my community?
Stay informed. Go to reliable sources of information, including your Ministry of Health, to learn what you can do to protect yourself and stay updated as the pandemic evolves. Community-specific information is available from local or national health authorities.
You can also continue to visit the WHO web site for simple prevention practices and general advice. WHO is not recommending travel restrictions nor does WHO have evidence of risk from eating cooked pork.
source: here.
A/H1N1 influenza: questions and answers
Published 7 May 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b1849
BMJ 2009;338:b1849
Full text available here. This particular article has been made available in the public interest.
What is pandemic flu?
The term pandemic relates to the virus’s geographical spread rather than its severity. A flu pandemic is an ongoing worldwide epidemic caused by a novel influenza virus that infects a large proportion of people lacking immunity to that virus.
The three flu pandemics of the 20th century were in 1918, 1957, and 1968.
What is different about A/H1N1 flu?
Swine flu is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs, caused by one of several influenza A viruses. So far three type A flu virus subtypes have been found in pigs: H1N1, H1H2, and H3N2. The Mexican virus is of the H1N1 family, named after its two surface proteins. Mortality in pigs tends to be low. Human infection with swine flu has been detected occasionally since the late 1950s, usually among people working with pigs,but secondary cases after human to human transmission have been very rare.
The A/H1N1 virus has been found to contain a unique combination of genes from pig, bird, and human flu viruses. Infections from human to human have been occurring for the past three weeks, at least. <-- at the time they publish it.
Is it worth wearing a face mask?
A systematic review last year (BMJ 2008;336:77-80, doi:10.1136/bmj.39393.510347.BE) showed that many simple and low cost interventions in healthcare settings, including facemasks, could help to reduce the spread of respiratory viruses. Masks can be simple and need not be of the N95 type (respirators with a 95% filtration capability).
It’s worth remembering that ordinary surgical masks become sodden within about an hour and a half, so clinicians would have to change masks about six times a day if they wanted to wear a mask continuously. Although most surgeries and hospitals will have stocked up on gloves, masks, and gowns, supplies are limited, so it is best to use them only when around affected patients.
There is no convincing scientific evidence that the widespread use of facemasks by members of the public can stop the disease spreading. They can give false reassurance and may encourage people to ignore basic hygiene measures that have proven effectiveness.
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