H1N1 flu reaches World's remotest corners
According to the latest World Health Organization figures; the H1N1 flu pandemic has spread to the most remote parts of the planet including popular island getaways.
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According to the latest World Health Organization figures; the H1N1 flu pandemic has spread to the most remote parts of the planet including popular island getaways.
The WHO on Monday said that more than twenty countries and overseas territories had their first lab-confirmed cases of the novel H1N1 flu virus.
These include holiday destinations such as the Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, St. Kitts and Nevis, Netherlands Antilles, Belize and France's Reunion Island, as well as isolated spots such as Tonga, American Samoa and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific ocean.
The novel influenza A H1N1 virus, which is a genetic mixture of human, bird and swine viruses, has also found its way to Bhutan in the Himalayas and Andorra, an independent state tucked between Spain and France. Afghanistan and Sudan have also confirmed their first cases of infections in recent days.
WHO said that it is impossible to stop H1N1 virus from circulating, and is monitoring it closely for signs of mutation or combination with other flu viruses.
In most countries the majority of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 cases are still occurring in younger people, with the median age reported to be 12 to 17 years (based on data from Canada, Chile, Japan, UK and the United States of America). Some reports suggest that persons requiring hospitalization and patients with fatal illness may be slightly older. As the disease expands broadly into communities, the average age of the cases is appearing to increase slightly. This may reflect the situation in many countries where the earliest cases often occurred as school outbreaks but later cases were occurring in the community.
While most patients have had mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever and vomiting, pregnant women and people with diabetes and other diseases have been vulnerable to more serious effects. An estimated 816 people have died from infection to date, according to the WHO's latest tally.
The WHO on Monday said that more than twenty countries and overseas territories had their first lab-confirmed cases of the novel H1N1 flu virus.
These include holiday destinations such as the Seychelles, Turks and Caicos, St. Kitts and Nevis, Netherlands Antilles, Belize and France's Reunion Island, as well as isolated spots such as Tonga, American Samoa and the Solomon Islands in the Pacific ocean.
The novel influenza A H1N1 virus, which is a genetic mixture of human, bird and swine viruses, has also found its way to Bhutan in the Himalayas and Andorra, an independent state tucked between Spain and France. Afghanistan and Sudan have also confirmed their first cases of infections in recent days.
WHO said that it is impossible to stop H1N1 virus from circulating, and is monitoring it closely for signs of mutation or combination with other flu viruses.
In most countries the majority of pandemic (H1N1) 2009 cases are still occurring in younger people, with the median age reported to be 12 to 17 years (based on data from Canada, Chile, Japan, UK and the United States of America). Some reports suggest that persons requiring hospitalization and patients with fatal illness may be slightly older. As the disease expands broadly into communities, the average age of the cases is appearing to increase slightly. This may reflect the situation in many countries where the earliest cases often occurred as school outbreaks but later cases were occurring in the community.
While most patients have had mild flu-like symptoms, such as fever and vomiting, pregnant women and people with diabetes and other diseases have been vulnerable to more serious effects. An estimated 816 people have died from infection to date, according to the WHO's latest tally.
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