Given what you learned, what can you reasonably do to be better prepared for a similar, if not more significant, winter wave? And if that wave doesn't materialize, you wasted little. This H1N1 virus may be the predominant seasonal flu strain for years to come, so you'll not waste your time or a vaccine dose if you get it now. And of course the preparedness work you do now to collect and respond to lessons learned during the fall wave will be used some day in the future, even if only for the next pandemic.
But it is a serious public health threat, and it's far from over. Expect the unexpected! That's the flu business. This will be the most important road we can take right now. Continue to review and update your pandemic preparedness plans. You may have little time to do this later this winter. Do not write the H1N1 pandemic obituary yet.
In fact, this lull after the second Northern Hemisphere wave is our time to regroup. If only a limited third wave occurs, your efforts will still be of great value. If a doozy of a third wave occurs, you will have been prescient in your efforts. Grant support for ASP provided by. Become an underwriter».
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Driven to Discover. Site Search. Staff Mission Contact Us. Making sense of the H1N1 pandemic: What's going on? Filed Under :. Business Preparedness. Dec 14, Share this page:. Just whom do you believe? Three critical questions should be front and center for you, your family, and your organization: Has this pandemic to date been a big deal or has this been a bunch of hype?
Or maybe it's been somewhere in between? Where are we in this pandemic experience? Is it over—or is another big "shoe" about to drop? If it's not over, what should you be doing for yourself and your family to be better prepared, and what should your organization be doing?
Big deal or a bunch of hype? As of November Approximately 9, people have died estimated range, 7, to 13, More than 47 million people have been infected with H1N1 range, 34 million to 67 million Some , persons have been hospitalized range, , to , Of note, this recent analysis captures much of the impact of the second wave of H1N1 that we saw this fall.
Let's provide some perspective behind the 36, figure: Comparing apples to oranges. In that CDC study, only 9, of those estimated annual seasonal deaths are due directly to influenza or secondary bacterial pneumonia. The other deaths are among persons who have influenza and who die of events like heart attacks or strokes. If you want a comparison, think of the guy who has a heart attack while snow blowing his driveway after a large snowstorm and whose death is labeled "storm-related.
We all realize that death is inevitable, and, as a public health practitioner, I find that this mad race to eliminate the top 10 causes of death is not always well thought through. If we were to accomplish such a goal, there would be 10 new leading causes of death, and I'm not so sure some of those would be better than the current ones.
But I think we can all agree that "early deaths"—or those that occur well before our elderly years —just shouldn't happen. The way we count influenza mortality, an influenza-related death in an year-old person with advanced Alzheimer disease is the same as the death of a year-old otherwise perfectly healthy pregnant woman.
The signs and symptoms of flu caused by the H1N1 virus are similar to those of infections caused by other flu strains and can include:. It's not necessary to see a doctor if you're generally healthy and develop flu signs and symptoms, such as fever, cough and body aches.
Call your doctor, however, if you have flu symptoms and you're pregnant or you have a chronic disease, such as asthma, emphysema, diabetes or a heart condition, because you have a higher risk of flu complications. If you have emergency signs and symptoms of the flu, get medical care right away.
For adults, emergency signs and symptoms can include:. Influenza viruses such as H1N1 infect the cells that line your nose, throat and lungs. The virus enters your body when you inhale contaminated droplets or transfer live virus from a contaminated surface to your eyes, nose or mouth. If you live in or travel to an area where many people are infected with the H1N1 virus, you may be exposed to the virus.
Each year's seasonal flu vaccine protects against the three or four influenza viruses that are expected to be the most common during that year's flu season. The flu vaccine can reduce your risk of the flu and its severity and lower the risk of having serious illness from the flu and needing to stay in the hospital.
Flu vaccination is especially important in the flu season because the flu and coronavirus disease COVID cause similar symptoms. Preventing the flu and reducing the severity of flu illness and hospitalizations could also lessen the number of people needing to stay in the hospital.
The flu vaccine is available as an injection and as a nasal spray. The nasal spray is approved for use in healthy people ages 2 through 49 years old. The nasal spray isn't recommended for some groups, such as pregnant women, children between 2 and 4 years old with asthma or wheezing, and people who have compromised immune systems.
For example, you may need to practice social distancing physical distancing and stay at least 6 feet 2 meters from others outside your household. You may also need to wear a cloth face mask when around people outside your household.
Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. But as with all types of flu, some people are at higher risk of serious illness, particularly those with underlying health problems.
The regular flu jab will usually protect people who are at a higher risk of becoming severely ill. A vaccine programme for children has also been introduced, which aims to protect children and reduce their ability to infect others.
Page last reviewed: 02 September Next review due: 02 September This new H1N1 virus contained a unique combination of influenza genes not previously identified in animals or people. This virus was designated as influenza A H1N1 pdm09 virus. Ten years later work continues to better understand influenza, prevent disease, and prepare for the next pandemic. The H1N1 pdm09 virus was very different from H1N1 viruses that were circulating at the time of the pandemic. Few young people had any existing immunity as detected by antibody response to the H1N1 pdm09 virus, but nearly one-third of people over 60 years old had antibodies against this virus, likely from exposure to an older H1N1 virus earlier in their lives.
Since the H1N1 pdm09 virus was very different from circulating H1N1 viruses, vaccination with seasonal flu vaccines offered little cross-protection against H1N1 pdm09 virus infection. While a monovalent H1N1 pdm09 vaccine was produced, it was not available in large quantities until late November—after the peak of illness during the second wave had come and gone in the United States.
Additionally, CDC estimated that ,, people worldwide died from H1N1 pdm09 virus infection during the first year the virus circulated. This differs greatly from typical seasonal influenza epidemics, during which about 70 percent to 90 percent of deaths are estimated to occur in people 65 years and older.
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