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Fact sheet: swine flu and flu pandemics
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As the world continues to watch the unfolding story of the swine flu outbreak in Mexico, a flood of media coverage using technical terms can become confusing. Here are some essential facts about flu pandemics.
Definition of pandemic:
From the World Health Organization (WHO): An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus appears against which the human population has no immunity, resulting in epidemics worldwide with enormous numbers of deaths and illness.
This definition is why the WHO has been hesitant to raise their pandemic warning from 3, few human infections, to 4, widespread human-to-human transmission. Pandemic is a panic word (as is outbreak), that, if not true, can cause much more harm than good. Therefore, while the WHO and local health officials begin their work in identifying and controlling the current spread of swine flu, the word pandemic will not be attached until they are certain that it will cause global devastation.
How strains are named:
The current strain of flu is A(H1N1). Influenza A typically begins in birds before being passed on to some other host and then humans. The A (or B or C, depending on the strain) classification is the most important facet of the virus name. It tells scientists and doctors how a body will most likely launch an attack against infection.
The H and N stand for hemagglutinin and neuraminidase, respectively. These are proteins that stick through the surface of the protective viral envelope. There are 16 subtypes of H and 9 subtypes of N. These proteins determine whether or not a particular strain is capable of infecting a certain host, with H1, H2, H3, H5, and H7 and N1, N2 and N7 the only combinations that can infect humans.
What makes this strain of A(H1N1) so dangerous:
The flu virus is prone to rapid mutations, incorporating host material that cause unpredictable variations. This particular strain of A(H1N1) contains genetic components from birds, swine, and humans, making it even more complicated from the traditional H1N1 that causes cases of flu nearly every year. Because of this extra genetic material, the strain can mutate more rapidly, move easily between different species, and prove very difficult to contain.
Also, unlike seasonal flu which strikes in the elderly population, young adults make up the grand majority of fatalities in Mexico. According to the BBC, this suggests that the “severity of the Mexican outbreak may be due to an unusual geographically-specific factor - possibly a second unrelated virus circulating in the community - which would be unlikely to come into play in the rest of the world.” However, the fact that it is affecting young adults disproportionately is strange.
Vaccines and treatments:
Because this strain of the virus has never been seen, there is no vaccine available. But, the CDC has already shown promising results with two drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza, on the mild cases that have thus far presented in the US. No word yet if they are effective in treating more severe symptoms.
Past pandemics:
Notably, the Spanish flu of 1918, which killed 50 million people worldwide, was a strain of H1N1 that also affected mostly young people. It is thought that over 40% of the entire world population was infected during the course of the pandemic.
The most recent pandemics were both in Asia. In 1957, two million people died from a mutated strain of H2N2 that had both human and duck genetic components. 1968 saw a worldwide outbreak that started in Hong Kong and went on to kill 1 million people. Both pandemics affected the elderly.
What is important to note here is the stark difference in fatalities in the mid-1900s when compared to earlier in the century. Because of a coordinated global effort, just like what can already be seen in the relationship between Mexico, the US, and Canada, to find a vaccine, loss of life was greatly reduced.
Pork safety:
The WHO states that “Swine influenza has not been shown to be transmissible to people through eating properly handled and prepared pork (pig meat) or other products derived from pigs. The swine influenza virus is killed by cooking temperatures of 160°F/70°C, corresponding to the general guidance for the preparation of pork and other meat.”
What we can do:
The best thing to do is be properly informed. Keep reading and watching the news for updates for local steps being taken to protect the public in your area. If you begin to exhibit flu-like symptoms (fever, chills, nausea, and lethargy are the most common), seek medical attention. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly, and to use common sense.
As Katherine Andrus, an attorney for the U.S. Air Transport Association, stated, "This is a time for appropriate precautions but not panic.” [CNN]
For more info:
UPDATE: Local Swine flu updates, outbreaks and video: a great hub of knowledge about local and national coverage of the situation
The World News Examiner has continuting coverage of the world's reaction to the outbreak in Mexico City.
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