H1N1 response shows need for better medical emergency plans

The headline that dominated the year was easily the H1N1 pandemic. On 11 June, 2009, WHO declared the start of the first influenza pandemic since 1968. These were the daily headlines from December 2009 about H1N1 Swine Flu and other influenza and Bird Flu (H5N1) topics.

At least 7826 people worldwide have died from laboratory-confirmed cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza, an increase of more than 1000 in the last week, …

According to the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, the country has now recorded more than 250 000 cases of influenza-like illness, with 235 patients requiring intensive care. As of 2 November, 70 deaths from acute respiratory illness have been reported.

A new survey has found that when it comes to preparing for a swine flu outbreak, the top concern for most US business leaders is getting enough vaccine. Swine flu shots delayed for most. This although controversy continues as to whether pregnant mom’s h1n1 exposure harms babies or not.

As of 23 August, the WHO (World Health Organization) estimated over 209438 cases and at least 2185 deaths. (Given that countries are no longer required to test and report individual cases, the number of cases reported actually understates the real number of cases.)

The most dangerous yet:
That is twice as many as the number killed by the bird flu infection H5N1 since its first outbreak in 2003. Moreover, unlike the bird flu virus, …