Influenza A H1N1 update
As of 18:00 GMT, 7 May 2009, 24 countries have officially reported 2371 cases of influenza A (H1N1) infection.
Mexico has reported 1112 laboratory confirmed human cases of infection, including 42 deaths. The United States has reported 896 laboratory confirmed human cases, including two deaths.
The following countries have reported laboratory confirmed cases with no deaths - Austria (1), Canada (201), China, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (1), Colombia (1), Costa Rica (1), Denmark (1), El Salvador (2), France (5), Germany (10), Guatemala (1), Ireland (1), Israel (6), Italy (5), Netherlands (2), New Zealand (5), Poland (1), Portugal (1), Republic of Korea (3), Spain (81), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1) and the United Kingdom (32).
The news is somewhat better than some feared it would be — but that doesn’t mean that governments and the WHO overreacted. If not for the dramatic measures that Mexico and other governments imposed, our situation right now could probably be worse. How much worse? Maybe only a little worse (a few hundred more people feeling miserable for a week, a few dozen more hospital emergency rooms overstretched), but possibly a whole lot worse. The flu virus that’s circulating in the US right now appears to cause relatively mild illness, but if it circulated through a wider population over a longer time period, it would mutate further and could become far more virulent. The problem is no vaccine. In a normal flu season thousands die but that is with many people having been vaccinated against some strains of influenza. Without a vaccine it can rapidly spread.
WHO is not recommending travel restrictions related to the outbreak of the influenza A(H1N1) virus.
Individuals who are ill should delay travel plans and returning travelers who fall ill should seek appropriate medical care. These recommendations are prudent measures which can limit the spread of many communicable diseases, including influenza.
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