t_r_nelson Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 WHO: H1N1 Pandemic Is Officially OverPosted on: Tuesday, 10 August 2010, 13:13 CDT The swine flu pandemic was officially declared to be over on Tuesday by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Director-General Margaret Chan said the organization's emergency committee of top flu experts told her that the pandemic had "largely run its course" and the world is no longer at a phase six influenza alert level. "I fully agree with the committee's advice," Chan told reporters in a telephone briefing from her native Hong Kong. She said that the virus has now entered the "post-pandemic" phase, which means that disease actively around the world has returned to levels usually seen for seasonal influenza. However, Chan said that even though hospitalizations and deaths have dropped, countries should still keep a watchful eye for unusual patterns of infection and mutations. "It is likely that the virus will continue to cause serious disease in younger age groups," she said, urging high-risk groups such as pregnant women to continue seeking vaccination. At least 18,449 people around the world have died from the A(H1N1) strain since April 2009. WHO said last week that the more accurate number is probably higher, but the organization's flu chief, Keiji Fukuda, said a final number will not be available for a few months. Lab-confirmed deaths globally increased by only 300 in the past two months, and many countries have long since closed the chapter on swine flu. European and North American governments started to dump vaccines earlier this year after finding their stocks were full of expired supplies. Health authorities in Britain shut down their pandemic flu hot line in February and canceled vaccine orders by a third back in April as the strain was starting to look less serious. Authorities in Germany are meeting later this week to discuss who is going to pick up the bill for the 34 million doses of vaccines. The French Senate published a report last month that criticized the WHO's handling of the pandemic, saying it was an "overestimation" of the risk and insufficient transparency about links between WHO experts and the pharmaceutical industry. Polls released in January showed that 70 percent of the French population thought the government overestimated the danger of the H1N1 virus. The government purchased 94 million doses of vaccine, but canceled half of the initial order at the start of the year. WHO chief Chan said that declaring the swine flu as pandemic was the right decision, based on the internationally agreed rules that existed at the time. "We have been aided by pure good luck," she said, adding that if the virus had mutated then the death rate could have been much higher. However, she said that changes may be made to the way WHO defines pandemics. "We need to review the phases, including the severity," she said. Professor Angus Nicoll, the flu program director at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, told The Associated Press that the decision to declare the pandemic as being over was consistent with the Stockholm-based body's recent findings. Nicoll said that while flu activity in the northern hemisphere is seasonally low, monitoring in southern hemisphere countries shows that few people are falling seriously ill from the H1N1 strain. He said that local spikes in flu deaths are likely due to better surveillance. Nicoll said that health officials around the world should prepare for a new type of seasonal flu to appear in the near future that will combine elements of the swine flu, the older A(H3N2) strain and several lesser strains. "It looks sort of middle of the road at the moment," he said. Source Remember this 'threat'? 18,449 out of 6 billion. A little arithmetic will show that your chance of dying from it was 0.000003. Glad that's over. :whistle: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prosidius Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Haha yeah I remember my university sending out notices of an alternative plan should an outbreak happen. Turns out we only had 1 person with the H1N1 virus. To be fair my state had the most confirmed cases in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was anyone with half a brain even worried about it? I know I sure wasn't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted August 11, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was anyone with half a brain even worried about it? I know I sure wasn't. I'm glad you weren't worried. Unfortunately, quite a few people were and this "pandemic" had a tremendous negative economic impact in places of its outbreak. This whole thing was probably a conspiracy. It shows how easily the population can be intimidated and manipulated by the media on the world scale. They had already had good experience with SARS and bird flu before. I bet some other viral outbreak or something else is due next year. This decade has been infamous for fear-mongering by the media. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncharted Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 the papers where like WE ARE ALL GOING TO DIE !!!!!!!! um less people died than normal flue lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScorpioRGc1 Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Heh, I'd kinda forgotten about H1N1; haven't heard anything about it in a while. I suppose I thought it had blown over a long time ago. :shrug: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zhangm Supervisor Posted August 11, 2010 Supervisor Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was anyone with half a brain even worried about it? I know I sure wasn't. Every once in a while, a relatively benign virus mutates into a deadly and virulent strain. It is not a question of if, but when it happens, and how prepared we are to deal with the threat. I think that it was reasonable to be worried about the possibility that H1N1 could have generated a descendant that killed millions. If the threat is real, why not prepare contingencies to deal with it beforehand, instead of trying to play catchup and point fingers after the fact? Looking at several other major disasters in human history (barring things like earthquakes), the common vein running through them all is that we saw it coming and let it roll all over us. In any case, H1N1 gave us a look at how (in)effective and absurd our pandemic response is. How long did it take for effective vaccines to become widely available? How long did it take before travel restrictions were half-heartedly implemented? Hopefully we've at least learned something from preparing for a disasterous pandemic, but as often is the case, I suppose we'll just forget all about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John S. Veteran Posted August 11, 2010 Veteran Share Posted August 11, 2010 Compared to the 'normal flu' that killed 30,000 in the US alone in 2009, that was quite the pandemic. Never bought into the hype. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedtimberedHound Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I agree with nagizan and he doesnt seeM very smart :blink: I think we should think of something coool like money and ALIENS :alien: OR THE THIRD movie of batman comin out sooon. :D ,thnk GOD ITS OVER THOUGH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I had swine flu, and it was horrible to go through. I never was worried about it, but I got it and it definitely sucked. I can see why people die from it. I don't really understand how people aside from infants and elderly die from a normal flu though. Swine flu was FAR worse. It just didn't seem to spread as well as a normal flu, and that might have been because people were so paranoid about it, they didn't go to work when sick, ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrCheese Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I think it was a damned if they do, damned if they don't thing with this. If they hadn't spent a fortune on vaccines and disaster planning then if it had turned into a massive worldwide pandemic governments would have been slated for not planning for it and millions may have died. That said, the media does love blowing things out of proportion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soonerproud Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 This decade has been infamous for fear-mongering by the media. This and they are at it again. MORE MEDIA FEAR MONGERING Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nukenorman Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 I had swine flu, and it was horrible to go through. I never was worried about it, but I got it and it definitely sucked. I can see why people die from it. I don't really understand how people aside from infants and elderly die from a normal flu though. Swine flu was FAR worse. It just didn't seem to spread as well as a normal flu, and that might have been because people were so paranoid about it, they didn't go to work when sick, ect. How did you know it was swine flu? How did the Dr know it was Swine Flu vs another flu strain? Im curious how they test for this stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Never got the vaccine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MR_Candyman Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 How did you know it was swine flu? How did the Dr know it was Swine Flu vs another flu strain? Im curious how they test for this stuff. Blood test. Unfortunately the test results take 2 weeks, by which point if you were going to die, you would have already done so. That was the first time I had called in sick to work in over 10 years. Everything hurt. I had no energy. I couldn't eat anything or I would vomit it up a minute later. I slept about 22 hours a day for 4 days. I was in bed for 6 days, needing help from my girlfriend to go to the bathroom as I couldn't get up on my own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nagisan Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Every once in a while, a relatively benign virus mutates into a deadly and virulent strain. It is not a question of if, but when it happens, and how prepared we are to deal with the threat. I think that it was reasonable to be worried about the possibility that H1N1 could have generated a descendant that killed millions. If the threat is real, why not prepare contingencies to deal with it beforehand, instead of trying to play catchup and point fingers after the fact? Looking at several other major disasters in human history (barring things like earthquakes), the common vein running through them all is that we saw it coming and let it roll all over us. In any case, H1N1 gave us a look at how (in)effective and absurd our pandemic response is. How long did it take for effective vaccines to become widely available? How long did it take before travel restrictions were half-heartedly implemented? Hopefully we've at least learned something from preparing for a disasterous pandemic, but as often is the case, I suppose we'll just forget all about this. Do you think its the least bit possible that a response took as long as it did because how benign swine flu was (compared to even the regular flu)? I am sure if something came around that was killing large amounts of people, travel restrictions would be in place far faster than what we have seen so far....I mean hell, look how fast things happened during 9/11, my mom worked at a flight school during the time and the military flew 2 jets out escort a single-engine Cessna back to the runway as the pilot (who was one of the flight instructors) was in the air during the time it had happened and had not heard of what was going on. In short, there he was simply flying around, suddenly 2 fighter jets appear and tell him where to go to land, he had no clue what was going on and was scared out of his mind because things rolled on so quickly. I agree with nagizan and he doesnt seeM very smart :blink: I think we should think of something coool like money and ALIENS :alien: OR THE THIRD movie of batman comin out sooon. :D ,thnk GOD ITS OVER THOUGH. Based on your inability to spell my name and inability to properly form a sentence, I would say you must have been extremely worried about Swine Flu (that is, you seem to have less then half a brain). If your going to attempt to insult someones intelligence, at least spell their name properly and try to sound smarter than they are in the process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Mirumir Subscriber¹ Posted August 11, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 11, 2010 This and they are at it again. MORE MEDIA FEAR MONGERING Yeah, I've just seen it :) It's ironic as I had just said I bet some other viral outbreak or something else is due next year. Didn't need to wait till next year for the next round of intimidation. Farewell H1N1. Hello NDM-1. Oh the irony that these two reports came on the same day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Singh400 Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Farewell H1N1. Hello NDM-1.You beat me to it. It is the new super-super-bug apparently. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chasethebase Reporter Posted August 11, 2010 Reporter Share Posted August 11, 2010 A few people at my University had it, were stuck in their rooms for days unable to leave, people had to deliver food to them. Unfortunate for them. :( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
what Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 People were right to be worried about swine flu. It would be wrong to be complacent about highly contagious diseases. At the time, you just don't know how life-threatening these viruses are. It's definitely better to be safe than sorry imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drlacus Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Pandemic... It was a joke, not pandemic. MRSA kills 20 000 people a year in the US ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Was anyone with half a brain even worried about it? I know I sure wasn't. +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismgtis Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 Pandemic. :laugh: It was such a pathetic joke from the start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Klownicle Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 It was over when it started... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+M2Ys4U Subscriber¹ Posted August 12, 2010 Subscriber¹ Share Posted August 12, 2010 The amount of stupidity in this thread is astounding :rofl: Take your conspiracy theories to area 51 and let us talk about real science in this forum, please. Do you think its the least bit possible that a response took as long as it did because how benign swine flu was (compared to even the regular flu)? I am sure if something came around that was killing large amounts of people, travel restrictions would be in place far faster than what we have seen so far....I mean hell, look how fast things happened during 9/11, my mom worked at a flight school during the time and the military flew 2 jets out escort a single-engine Cessna back to the runway as the pilot (who was one of the flight instructors) was in the air during the time it had happened and had not heard of what was going on. In short, there he was simply flying around, suddenly 2 fighter jets appear and tell him where to go to land, he had no clue what was going on and was scared out of his mind because things rolled on so quickly. Based on your inability to spell my name and inability to properly form a sentence, I would say you must have been extremely worried about Swine Flu (that is, you seem to have less then half a brain). If your going to attempt to insult someones intelligence, at least spell their name properly and try to sound smarter than they are in the process. Stopping international travel would have done nothing as by the time the potenial of H1N1 was known the virus was already in most countries. Banning travel would have just made the economic impact of the outbreak even worse. Quite frankly we didn't know how bad H1N1 was going to be, although we knew how bad it could be. The scary headline figures reported in the press were worst-case scenarios, not accurate predictions of what was definitely going to happen. Influenza is a deadly disease, you just have to look at past pandemics to see that. You beat me to it. It is the new super-super-bug apparently. Actually, NDM-1 is a gene, not an organism in its own right. Pandemic... It was a joke, not pandemic. MRSA kills 20 000 people a year in the US ! Right, you obviously don't know what a pandemic is, do you? A pandemic (from Greek πᾶν pan "all" + δῆμος demos "people") is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance a continent, or even worldwide. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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