UPDATES in replies: H1N1 Swine flu (*****also symptoms)

As of May 3, 2009, these are the stats of the swine flu pandemic:

As of Sunday, WHO confirmed 898 cases of swine flu — known to scientists as influenza A (H1N1) — reported in 18 countries.

Mexico has 506 confirmed cases, including 19 deaths, WHO reported.

The United States has reported 226 confirmed cases in 30 states. The U.S. cases include one death — a Mexican toddler visiting relatives in the United States.

According to WHO, Canada has 70 confirmed cases; the United Kingdom has 15; Spain has 13; Germany has 6; New Zealand has 4; Israel has 3; France has 2; and Austria, China, South Korea, Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland, Costa Rica and Ireland each have one.

More talk of the 1918 flu in that article:

“I … would like to remind people that in 1918 the Spanish flu showed a surge in the spring, and then disappeared in the summer months, only to return in the autumn of 1918 with a vengeance,” Hartl said. “And we know that that eventually killed 40 million to 50 million people.”

Just in case you didn’t see my other post on the 1918 flu, aka H5N1, here is some information on what they are comparing this strain to:

STATEMENT
Unmasking the 1918 Influenza Virus

October 5, 2005

The mysteries of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic, that killed an estimated 50 million people across the globe, are finally beginning to be solved. Two scientific papers published this week provide insights into the virus that caused the most deadly influenza outbreak in modern history. This virus was unusual because it spread so quickly, was so deadly, and exacted its worst toll among the young and healthy. In just over one year, the virus infected one-third of the world’s population with death rates approximately 50 times higher than those associated with regular seasonal influenza.

ALSO from Stanford university:

The Influenza Pandemic of 1918

The influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 killed more people than the Great War, known today as World War I (WWI). More people died of influenza in a single year than in four-years of the Black Death Bubonic Plague from 1347 to 1351. Known as “Spanish Flu” or “La Grippe” the influenza of 1918-1919 was a global disaster.

The effect of the influenza epidemic was so severe that the average life span in the US was depressed by 10 years. The influenza virus had a profound virulence, with a mortality rate at 2.5% compared to the previous influenza epidemics, which were less than 0.1%. The death rate for 15 to 34-year-olds of influenza and pneumonia were 20 times higher in 1918 than in previous years (Taubenberger). People were struck with illness on the street and died rapid deaths. One anectode shared of 1918 was of four women playing bridge together late into the night. Overnight, three of the women died from influenza (Hoagg). Others told stories of people on their way to work suddenly developing the flu and dying within hours (Henig). One physician writes that patients with seemingly ordinary influenza would rapidly “develop the most viscous type of pneumonia that has ever been seen” and later when cyanosis appeared in the patients, “it is simply a struggle for air until they suffocate,” (Grist, 1979). Another physician recalls that the influenza patients “died struggling to clear their airways of a blood-tinged froth that sometimes gushed from their nose and mouth,” (Starr, 1976). The physicians of the time were helpless against this powerful agent of influenza. In 1918 children would skip rope to the rhyme (Crawford):

I had a little bird,

Its name was Enza.

I opened the window,

And in-flu-enza.

What does that mean for the rest of us? NO sigh of relief yet. Brace yourself and hope for the best. The end of the year will be the true test of our fates. God help us.

*****SYMPTOMS:

The Virus

Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms. That includes:

• fever
• cough
• sore throat
• body aches
• headache
• chills
• fatigue

Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu.

How it spreads

The virus spreads the same way a typical seasonal flu does, via coughs, sneezes (within a few feet) or touching something with the flu virus on it and then touching their mouth, nose or eyes. An infected person can pass it on before they even develop symptoms. The incubation period for most flu viruses is 3 to 5 days, and the period for swine flu is disputed, and has been reported as anywhere from 1-5 days.

There is no evidence yet that this year’s seasonal flu vaccine will protect against the swine flu.

You cannot get swine flu from eating pork products.

What you can do

If you believe have flu symptoms, stay home. When you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Throw out used tissues and wash your hands. If you’ve got flu symptoms and you’ve recently been to a high-risk area such as Mexico see your doctor.

Your doctor may not be able to determine whether you have swine flu, but he or she would take a sample from you and send it to a state health department lab for testing. Your doctor may write you a prescription for Tamiflu or Relenza, but neither is required, as Swine Flu patients have recovered without medication.

If you were immunized with the Swine Flu vaccine in 1976, it probably won’t protect you now.

1976? We’ve seen this before?

From the CDC website:

History

Swine Influenza A Outbreak, Fort Dix, New Jersey, 1976

In early 1976, the novel A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1) influenza virus caused severe respiratory illness in 13 soldiers with 1 death at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Since A/New Jersey was similar to the 1918–1919 pandemic virus, rapid outbreak assessment and enhanced surveillance were initiated. A/New Jersey virus was detected only from January 19 to February 9 and did not spread beyond Fort Dix. A/Victoria/75 (H3N2) spread simultaneously, also caused illness, and persisted until March. Up to 230 soldiers were infected with the A/New Jersey virus. Rapid recognition of A/New Jersey, swift outbreak assessment, and enhanced surveillance resulted from excellent collaboration between Fort Dix, New Jersey Department of Health, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and Center for Disease Control personnel. Despite efforts to define the events at Fort Dix, many questions remain unanswered, including the following: Where did A/New Jersey come from? Why did transmission stop?

Revisiting events surrounding the 1976 swine influenza A (H1N1) outbreak may assist those planning for the rapid identification and characterization of threatening contemporary viruses, like avian influenza A (H5N1. The severity of the 1918 influenza A (H1N1) pandemic and evidence for a cycle of pandemics aroused concern that the 1918 disaster could recur Following the 1918 pandemic, H1N1 strains circulated until the “Asian” influenza A (H2N2) pandemic in 1957. When in early 1976, cases of influenza in soldiers, mostly recruits, at Fort Dix, New Jersey, were associated with isolation of influenza A (H1N1) serotypes (which in 1976 were labeled Hsw1N1), an intense investigation followed.

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