Researchers say swine flu has “full pandemic potential”, spreading readily between people and is likely to go global in the next six to nine months. So When will it be India’s turn? Are we prepared to tackle this pandemic ? !! Elections are done too…So who is going to care ?
Let us really hope we will be not touched this time. God Bless Us.
Although one in three who come in contact will likely become infected, the Imperial College London team declined to estimate the death toll. The study based on Mexico’s experience is published in the journal Science.
The number of laboratory-confirmed swine flu cases has reached 5,251 in some 30 countries around the world, with 61 having died from the disease, the World Health Organization has confirmed. Thats what the stats say.
Lead researcher Professor Neil Ferguson said it was too early to say whether the virus will cause deaths on a massive scale, or prove little more lethal than normal seasonal flu. (some consolation at last ! )
His “fast and dirty” analysis of Mexico’s swine flu outbreak suggests that the H1N1 virus is about as dangerous as the virus behind a 1957 pandemic that killed 2 million people worldwide !!
Its full impact on the UK is not likely to be known until the annual flu season in the autumn and winter, when a “really major epidemic” can be expected in the northern hemisphere, says Professor Ferguson.
“To put that into context, normal seasonal flu every year probably affects around 10% of the world’s population every year, so we are heading for a flu season which is perhaps three times worse than usual – not allowing for whether this virus is more severe than normal seasonal flu viruses.”
His study suggests swine flu could kill four in every 1,000 infected people.
“One of the key decisions which has to be made this week by the world community is how much do we switch over current vaccine production for seasonal flu to make a vaccine against this particular virus? I think those decisions need to be made quickly.”
