Obama declares H1N1 emergency
October 24, 2009 by Marijke Durning, RN
Filed under Diseases & Conditions
According to news reports, President Barack Obama has declared an H1N1 emergency in the United States. This move was declared earlier today. By making this declaration, medical resources can be distributed as they are needed, including off-site in non-traditional methods of delivery.
There are still people who feel that the H1N1 influenza is being blown out of proportion and this will be the biggest non-event in history, but let’s look at the facts:
Flu season, which runs from November until March, kills many people every year. Flu season hasn’t even really officially begun yet, and yet, the U.S. has seen 22 deaths directly attributed to H1N1, as reported by the Centers of Disease Control:
2009 – 2010 22 (18 confirmed H1N1)**
2008-2009 147 (76 confirmed H1N1)*
2007-2008 83
2006-2007 68
2005-2006 41
2004-2005 39
2003-2004 152
Traditionally, seasonal influenzas strike the elderly and the infirm the hardest. The elderly are not the targets of this virus, it is the young healthy adults and children who are experiencing complications and dying.
Also, from the CDC website:
During week 40 (October 4-10, 2009), influenza activity increased in the U.S.
- The proportion of deaths attributed to pneumonia and influenza (P&I) was above the epidemic threshold.
- Eleven influenza-associated pediatric deaths were reported. Ten of these deaths were associated with 2009 influenza A (H1N1) virus infection and one was associated with an influenza A virus, for which subtype is undetermined.
I’m giving the flu vaccine next week to my coworkers and I’ll be getting it myself. I want my family vaccinated. I want to do whatever I can to keep them healthy. Naysayers can go on about how we need to fight viruses and strengthen our immune systems. Catching this flu and fighting it does nothing for our immune system except make us immune to this influenza the next time it comes around – maybe.
~~~
Image: Newscom.com
Is this different from the Public Health Emergency that he declared last April? I added the H1N1 CDC widget to my blog and did a column last April when a similar announcement was made.
Wondering if this is an upgraded status or reminder of the status from last Spring?
Both of my university daughters were diagnosed with H1N1 about six weeks ago. Both had to take Tamiflu. They were awfully sick and feverish.
Is this as dangerous as some make it out to be? Or is it hype at this particlar time to get the U.S.government controlled health care bill passed? Unfortunately, because of all the political maneuvering, it makes it difficult to know what is fact and what is fiction. How do we know when someone is diagnosed if they really have H1N1?
Perhaps with your medical knowledge, you can give us some input, Marijke.
Parin, I don’t know but I’ll try to find out.
Mary Emma – yes, it is dangerous, particularly for those at high risk, including pregnant women. However, there are young, healthy people who are becoming severely ill.
To put it into perspective, fewer than 1% of those who get the H1N1 influenza become seriously ill, however, it is who it is that becomes so ill and how ill they become (and how quickly).
The flu itself makes it possible for bacterial infections to get into the lungs, causing a strong bacterial pneunonia, which causes a lot of the deaths. Influenza is a respiratory illness for the most part, which is why this occurs.
Because it is a new strain, we have no natural immunity to it. Those born in the 50s may have some immunity due to exposure to other similar flus in that time, but that only may provide partial immunity – they still may become ill.
Another way to look at it is that the world’s governments are spending millions and millions of dollars on supplies and resources – money that could be well spent elsewhere. That is because there is a real fear that this could very serious. Personally, I have had to sit in on many telephone meetings about the issue. I don’t sense any panic or Chicken Little behavior, but I do sense a feeling of “this is serious and we have to do our best to keep it under control.”
Does this help?
Thanks, Marijke, for your input. There has been so much political maneuvering the past few months here in the U.S. to get a government controlled health care system bill passed by leaders, who apparently feel crisis and fear help their strategies, that it’s difficult to know what to believe…whether an issue really has reached crisis proportion or not. So it’s particularly helpful to get input from someone outside our country who is knowledgeable in the medical field.