Was there a H1N1 pandemic?

Since April 2009, the world has been rocked by the H1N1 pandemic - but was the word 'pandemic' actually appropriate?

On the 14 January 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) held a virtual press conference with Dr. Keiji Fukuda, Special Advisor to the Director-General on Pandemic Influenza, to discuss Pandemic Influenza.

Dr. Fukuda stated, "The allegation by some, that the H1N1 pandemic is a fake is both scientifically wrong and historically inaccurate."

Talking about when an infectious disease is classed as a pandemic, Dr. Fukuda stated, "When we talk about something in the larges size, which is involvement of most of the world, then we're talking about a pandemic."

He went on to state, "If we look specifically at the H1N1 pandemic, we can see that WHO was first notified about human infections in late April. At that time we had laboratory information which told us that this influenza virus was genetically andantigenically very different from the normal human influenza viruses circulating around the world.

"We had epidemiologic information which was provided initially from the North American countries Mexico, Canada and USA, which demonstrated convincingly that there was person to person transmission occurring at the start."

In fact, WHO estimates, that as of 10 January 2010, worldwide more than 208 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2009, including at least 13554 deaths.

The most intense areas of pandemic influenza virus transmission currently are in parts of North Africa, South Asia, and east and southeastern Europe.

In North Africa, limited data suggest that transmission of pandemic influenza virus remains active throughout the region, particularly in Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt. In West Asia, limit data suggest that pandemic virus continues to circulate widely with a number of countries likely having already experienced a peak in activity prior to December.

Pandemic H1N1 2009 virus continues to be predominant circulating influenza virus in the northern African and western Asian regions with only sporadic detections of seasonal influenza viruses.

Reports continue

WHO will clarify a data on swine flu after media reports of a false pandemic hindered public health measures, India's Health Secretary K. Sujatha Rao said.

Next week, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe plans to debate the theme "Faked pandemics: a threat to health" at a plenary session in Strasbourg, France.

"In response to this intervention by India, it was agreed that WHO would formally write to national focal points in all countries clarifying the factual position about the H1N1 pandemic to quell all doubts that had been created," the statement said.

News reports were "adversely impacting upon the public health measures being undertaken by countries," Rao said in the statement, Bloomberg reported.

Global spread

It may be being called in to doubt, but at the end of the day, the spread of H1N1 was global - and WHO class a spread of a disease which is global as a pandemic. Cases may be slowing down, but people are still dying from the virus.

The pandemic may not have been as serious as it was originally being predicted but 13,554 people around the world have died from what is believed to be the H1N1 disease - this is still lives which have been lost.

It may be claimed that some countries such as Spain have overstocked on the vaccine - which can be argued is benefiting the pharmaceutical industry, but who is to say that the disease isn't going to flare up again so to speak and those vaccines will be needed. There is nothing wrong with countries continuing to vaccinate people and save future generations.

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