Posted on 06/10/2009 6:36:12 AM PDT by traumer
A sharp increase in swine flu cases in Australia may mean the infection has become a pandemic, the World Health Organization says.
For that to happen, officials would have to verify that the disease had become established outside North America, where the crisis began.
"Once I get indisputable evidence, I will make the announcement," said WHO director general, Margaret Chan.
More than 1,200 people have contracted the virus in Australia - none fatally.
The total means Australia has seen a four-fold increase in a week.
Less than a month ago the country had only a handful of cases of the H1N1 virus but it now has the highest number of infections outside North America.
Victoria and the state capital, Melbourne, are the worst-hit with more than 1,000 confirmed cases.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
A dose of sanity:
Read the CDC’s advice to clinicians concerning this virus — essentially it’s no worse than any other influenza.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/identifyingpatients.htm
Pandemic as a term refers to how pervasive and transmittable the disease is, not it lethality.
Do NOT fear this particular H1N1 ‘swine flue.’
No worries...
I think anyone with the flu left Australia last week. They were on the plane with me from Sydney to Los Angeles...it was a through from Melbourne. Geez...the coughing! I was just glad they weren’t sitting near me.
It doesn’t matter if they were sitting next to you, you have been exposed. Hope you are OK.
I’m fine!
Good!
I’m in Melbourne, looking forward to getting the flu. It will remind me of living in New York.
vaudine
“I’m in Melbourne, looking forward to getting the flu. It will remind me of living in New York.”
LOL! I’m in NJ and had some type of flu here at home in January. Fever...coughing, etc.
I loved Australia so much, I’m ready to return...and soon! We didn’t get to Melbourne...just NSW and QLD, so there’s more to see! My daughter had so much fun in Cairns, she’s planning to spend a few more months there.
My students are constantly complaining that nobody at our school has got it and so they haven’t had a week’s holiday due to the school being closed.
Treating swine flu like Ebola.
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