Swine Flu Emerges Worldwide

In the past several days, a certain strain of swine flu has spread from Mexico to the United States, Spain, Canada, New Zealand, and several other countries worldwide. As of Tuesday, April 26th, the Mexican government had reported 152 fatalities in cases with flu-like symptoms. However, only seven of these have been undeniably confirmed as being the result of swine flu. Also, the United States had 64 confirmed cases as of Tuesday evening. The main characteristic that differentiates this flu from other strains is that it targets people mainly between the ages of 20 and 55, as opposed to targeting the elderly and infants. The latter two groups are those who usually suffer worst from flu viruses due to weakened immune systems.

As a result of the 64 cases in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have released one quarter of their stockpiled anti-viral drugs to those states that have residents infected with swine flu. Additionally, as a result of the worldwide spread of the disease, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the level of its pandemic alert from phase 3 to phase 4. This effectively means that the disease has shown the ability to transmit itself from human to human to the point where it could conceivably cause "community-level outbreaks". The WHO has only raised its alert to the highest level, on a handful of prior occasions. These instances include the infamous 1918 flu outbreak.

However, among all the hype, there is one thing to keep in mind: the regular flu kills about 36,000 every year, according to cnn.com. The swine flu on the other hand, has not yet been responsible for any American deaths and is suspected to be the cause of under 200 death in Mexico. What separates the swine flu from the commonplace flu is that the swine flu tends to target those who traditionally have healthy immune systems as opposed to those who do not. While a traditional flu will be most prevalent among the elderly and the very young, the swine flu thus far has proven to be more common among those aged 20-55.

RHAM News will have more information as this story develops. Stay tuned to RHAM TV and blog for updates.

Sources: www.who.int/en ; www.cnn.com ; www.cdc.gov