Swine Flu: Pandemic Potential with Economic Effects

Swine flu is the latest medical threat that our world population has to contend with, and is now one step away from being recognised officially as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation.

 As of May 19th Swine Flu has a level 5 status (meaning that there are sustained outbreaks in at least 2 counties in the same WHO region). This is already the case, a level 6 status is imminent, whether we like it or not. Unlike Avian/bird flu, human to human transmission is easy with Swine Flu. Future mutations with existing flu viruses are possible which makes this even more dangerous.

 Currently there are over 8000 worldwide cases with the highest numbers in Mexico (the source), The USA and Canada. Person to person contagion has been confirmed, as many cases did not involve travellers from Mexico etc.

Over 40 countries worldwide now have confirmed cases including over 80 cases in the United Kingdom, 50+ in Panama and over a hundred in Japan.

Image via Wikipedia

A level 6 pandemic status has to be near, but many country leaders are reluctant for this announcement to be made ,since it will impact many countries that are already suffering the effects of a year that included fuel, food and economic crises.

Once the level 6 pandemic alert is announced it will have an immediate global impact.

Vaccination

All countries are struggling to obtain sufficient quantities of the vaccine for a potential large scale crisis, in the hope a new strain does not develop. This increases the burden on health authorities in every nation.

Currently the new vaccine will take months to develop/produce and seasonal flu vaccine production is a higher priority. It would be embarrassing for our leaders to explain why more are dying from the seasonal flu rather than the Swine Flu virus.

Avoiding Infection

As with all flu viruses, maintain a distance of 1 metre from potential infectious sources (other people).

Do not touch your mouth or nose in order to avoid contact infection from other sources (elevator buttons etc).

Do not attend events where crowds are present.

If you experience flu symptoms :

Do not go to work or attend crowded events (thereby protecting others).

Consult a medical professional for diagnosis and ensure you wear a mask to prevent infecting friends or family members and try to avoid coughing or sneezing around others.

Do not travel.

Effects on business will become immediately evident, since avoiding crowds will curtail a myriad of activities; such as cinema’s, stadium events and shopping malls. Stock markets are not known for their durability and panic easily, so expect share prices to drop in many areas. Tourism and travel industries will also be seriously affected. During a global recession, it is definitely not the best time for a pandemic announcement. We can only hope it is contained quickly with minimum loss of life.

Latest swine flu updates may be obtained at http://www.who.org