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Lessons from the Human Influenza A H1N1 Virus
By mickielynn on 2009-05-03 14:03:46
[caption id="attachment_ 7368 Walign="aligncenter" width="254" caption="Human H1N1 virus"]
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==i[/caption] Human influenza type A, HIN1 virus has been creating quite a bit of
alarm as we wait to find out whether it will cause a serious pandemic or will be a milder outbreak of flu. It's original name
"Swine flu" was something of a misnomer because swine flu is a virus that infects pigs and creates regular outbreaks of
respiratory illness within herds or farms. It usually causes widespread illness from which the pigs recover with few if any
deaths. The virus that the world is now watching is one that infects humans. In fact it's spread by "significant human to
human transmission" which is the definition of level 5 (out of 6) on the pandemic alert scale. It's a unique virus that
contains the genetic materials of human, avian and swine flu viruses, including elements from European and Asian swine flu
viruses. The fact that it's never been seen before is one of the causes for alarm, because we don't have vaccines for this virus
and it will take several months to develop them. The source of this virus isn't completely confirmed but one current and
strongly held theory is that it originated in the midst of an overcrowded, unsanitary, inhumane factory farm, Smithfield
Foods facility in Perote, Mexico, where it was able to develop and mutate in the animals of this huge population. Another
reason for concern is the fact that this HIN1 type of virus was responsible for three previous pandemics, the 1918 pandemic
that led to at least 40 million deaths worldwide, the 1957 pandemic causing about 2 million deaths, and the 1968 pandemic
(the Hong Kong flu) that caused about | million deaths. At first when the number of HIN1 suspected deaths from Mexico
was higher than it is now, it looked as if this particular virus was severe and would lead to a high proportion of deaths. Now
it appears that it's currently a milder form of influenza. Here are some figures from the World Health Organization from an
update earlier this morning:
3 May 2009 -- As of 0600 GMT, 3 May 2009, 17 countries have officially reported 787 cases of influenza
A(HIN1) infection. Mexico has reported 506 confirmed human cases of infection, including 19 deaths. The
higher number of cases from Mexico in the past 48 hours reflects ongoing testing of previously collected
specimens. The United States Government has reported 160 laboratory confirmed human cases, including one
death. The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada
(70), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), France (2), Germany
(6), Ireland (1), Israel (3), Netherlands (1), New Zealand (4), Republic of Korea (1), Spain (13), Switzerland (1)
and the United Kingdom (15).
If you want to check the website for updates and a distribution map the URL is
http:/Awww.who.int/csr/don/2009_05_03/en/index.html More good news: in temperate climates the major flu season peaks
during the fall and winter. Although this virus could return next fall, it probably will be spread more slowly during the spring
and summer. In tropical areas the flu season occurs pretty much all year long with the exception of the rainy seasons. Public
health scientists feel that we'll have more complete information about the threat level of a pandemic within the next week or
so, as we observe the spread of the virus worldwide and its level of virulence. As with all viruses, this little collection of
genetic material has just one "goal", to invade as many cells as possible, duplicate its own genetic structure and spread
widely. With this imperative, viruses are constantly changing and mutating, shedding, and adding new DNA to their array of
proteins. This means that over time patterns of contagion and of transmission may change as well. These changes often
include developing resistance to antiviral drugs. Right now it's been found that if treated within the first few days the HIN1
virus responds well to two drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza. It also seems to be cured by the healthy immune systems of most of
its victims without the use of antiviral drugs. So now that we've made the acquaintance of tiny HIN1 what are some of the
lessons that it holds for us in terms of global and public policy? The first is the need for adequate health care and access to
necessary medications both within the United States and globally. At home we currently have at least 47 million uninsured
people, and more are losing their job linked insurance each day. In earlier comments about health insurance made on Waging
Peace some people have expressed their satisfaction with their own health insurance and a lack of concern for those who are
uninsured. This potential flu pandemic with the possibility of global spread without concern for race, religion, nationality or
socioeconomic status adds the motivation of "enlightened self-interest" to providing health care for those who don't already
have access to diagnosis and treatment. Along the same lines, it becomes clear that unnecessary wars and massive
bombing destroy the public health facilities and infrastructure in the bombed territories and nations. This makes diagnosis,
treatment and vaccination much more difficult. Again it increases the health threats to all of us. The lack of electricity alone
means that vaccines and drugs can't be refrigerated for distribution and for help in ending an epidemic or pandemic. It's
tempting to go on and on with other parables and lessons posed by this global public health threat but I'll restrain myself and
mention just one more area. That's the need for cooperation and for good communication and the sharing of lessons
already learned from previous health threats, like the SARS outbreak and previous flu outbreaks. Right now it's too late to
try and close borders or to shut out the virus. We don't have weapons to combat it so we need to depend on modifying
human behavior and on the cooperation that will be needed for accurate reporting and charting of viral patterns. We need to
widely communicate the need for hand washing, protection by face masks in highly contaminated or crowded areas,
isolation of infected patients, shutting down schools, work places and other public areas in the event of local outbreaks. If
we can work cooperatively with other nations of the world to minimize this possible pandemic and avoid deaths and
illnesses, and if we can share scientific knowledge freely to develop vaccines and treatments that will be freely available to
all~~ we can use the same techniques to work cooperatively on other global threats and problems without resorting to war.
