Today 4/29/2009 the World Health organization upgraded the “pandemic level” to a level 5 out of 6. This is the last step before officially declaring a pandemic. Humans have already dealt with several pandemics in the 20th century and what exactly is a pandemic?
Pandemic
The term “pandemic” comes from Greek with PAN meaning “all” and DEMOS meaning “people”. Actually it was the Greek physician Hippocrates first described influenza in 412 BC. A pandemic is basically a new, infectious disease that spreads between humans on a large scale. Currently the WHO uses a scale of 1-6 to rank an infectious disease and its ability for causing a pandemic.
- Phase Four: Human to human spread possible
- Phase Five: Human to human spread of the virus in at least two countries in one region of the globe
- Phase Six: Global Pandemic with widespread outbreaks
So looking at the previous few days of the H1N1 influenza virus (swine flu) we cannot be surprised that this is moving towards a “pandemic” and it actually appears that we are already at the pandemic point. There is currently spread between humans, it has infected people in multiple countries in the same geographic region and it has crossed continents.
Famous Previous and Current Pandemics
The Black Deathof Europe, Plague caused by the bacteria Yersenia Pestis started in the 1300′s and killed 20-30 million Europeans over 6 years
First cholera pandemic at the Indian Sub-continent 1816-1826 killed greater than 10 million and many records indicate a higher toll, all caused by a humble bacteria
Spanish Flu was first noted in March of 1918 in Kansas and had spread to all continents by October. Estimates of 2.5-5% of the total global population was infected and killed 50 million people in six months
Asian Flu in 1957-1958 killed 2 million globally and about 70,000 in the United States alone
HIV is an active pandemic that has spread from one continent to another, is infectious and its death toll may reach 100 million in Africa alone, by 2025
Smallpox is a virus that had a death toll of 500 million in the 20th century alone, until it was eradicated, in an amazing global effort, 1n 1979
Clearly, the term pandemic does not mean the end of the world. Humans have suffered through and still grapple with pandemics, on a daily basis. Taking proper personal safety measures such as handwashing, using condoms, covering your cough, not sharing needles and disposing of your dirty tissues properly are what help stop disease spread.
Filed under: Outbreaks and Updates, Travel Health | Tagged: influenza pandemic, is h1n1 the next pandemic, is swine flu the next pandemic | Leave a Comment »
The H1N1 virus continues to circle the globe and infect new areas thanks to the “person to person” spread. Clearly, this influenza outbreak will have long-reaching impact on travelers. A few things that may help travelers make informed decisions:
Use of N-95 respirator masks may also decrease flu transmission, although they require proper fitting to ensure adequate face to mask seal. Simple surgical masks likely offer little protection. A 2007 statement from the CDC discussed little evidence that using such masks decreased influenza transmission.
For those who have been hearing about this on media sources such as CNN, I thought this might be of interest. An outbreak of Swine Flu (H1N1) has been reported in several states of Mexico including Mexico City. The outbreaks in Mexico appear to be carrying a case fatality rate of around 7% with 68 deaths and approx. 1,000 cases reported. The cases reported in the USA were in San Diego and Texas, with no fatalities yet reported in America. The strains of the viruses isolated thus far has proved to be similiar, both from America and Mexico.
As the warm months of summer begin to draw closer and closer, getting outside and adventuring becomes a bit easier. I personally love long runs in the hot part of the day and consider this my favorite time of year. Physical exertion in a hot environment carries with it special risks and requires some knowledge about heat related illnesses and basic prevention.
Japanese encephalitis (JE) is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes (Culex) and found primarily in rural areas of Southeast Asia, although reports have been scattered all over Asia. This infection has an affinity for the brain and spinal cord tissues as is know to causes meningitis like symptoms including headache, neck stiffness, fever and malaise. A majority of these infections are asymptomatic although JE carries a 0.3-60% case fatality rate. Infants are a particularly vulnerable population and often hardest hit. Pigs and birds are a key reservoir of the illness, making visitors to rural farming areas at particular risk. 30,000 to 50,000 people are affected each year with 10,000 too 15,000 deaths.
