The H1n1 Pandemic Is Officially Over

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the H1N1 threat is no longer being considered a pandemic

. The organizations emergency committee agreed the pandemic has ran its course and is no longer at a phase six alert level. Instead it's in a post-pandemic phase which tells us that the levels of the virus have leveled out to being similar to that of the regular flu.

For those who are unfamiliar with the virus, H1N1 has been known as the swine flu because lab tests showed that many genes of the virus are similar to flu viruses that usually occur in pigs. It is a highly contagious virus that spread from human to human after its outbreak in early 2009. The symptoms are similar to a regular flu and includes cough, runny nose, sore throat, fever, body and headaches and fatigue. Some may experience diarrhea and vomiting as well. It is a respiratory infection and it is possible for one to have respiratory symptoms without a fever.

There has been a steep recent decline in the amount of hospitalizations and deaths caused from the H1N1 swine flu. However, Margaret Chan of the World Health Organization advises against becoming complacent of the threat and advises that we be on the watch for unusual patterns of infections and mutations that could cause the existing drugs to become ineffective.

Since the swine flu outbreak in early 2009 roughly 18,000 people died from the pandemic. This flu actually affects more young adults negatively than it does older people. Through 2009 and 2010 so far it has been a risk in schools as infection tends to spread at higher rates in schools. However, the rapid decrease in the number of infections, hospitalizations and deaths has caused organizations to start dumping excess vaccines and shutting down their hotlines.

However, the virus mutating was one of the greatest threats. And the severity and risk level should continued to be monitored. There are some areas however, such as New Zealand that are experiencing higher levels of infection. Therefore you should still be on the alert for flu like symptoms and stay tuned for more news on the topic.

by: Rachel Smith

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