"Swine Flu - Are We on the Verge of a Global Pandemic?"

Swine flu refers to influenza that is caused by any strain of the influenza virus that is endemic in pigs.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a worldwide pandemic alert level 6 for swine flu. In the United State that has many people around the world in a panic.

According to WHO, Level 6 indicates that it has reached a global pandemic scale, with outbreaks in another country, but in a different WHO region. This could mean it is an epidemic with geographically widespread serious consequences.

Many schoolchildren around the world have been out of school for several weeks, even celebrities have ben seen wearing facemasks. Additionally, other individuals are canceling travel plans out of fear of contracting this disease.

Well I was too, so here's the story.

Epidemics happen frequently and may be widespread, but they are generally restricted to a localized area within a certain region.

Over the last week, and this was written the week after April 24 2009, there have been over 60 deaths in Mexico alone.

According to the World Health Organization, pandemics occur about once every 10 to 50 years, or approximately 3 times a century since the 1,500s. In the 20th century there were three flu pandemics; 1918-1919, 1957-1958, and 1968-1969.

The 1918 flu epidemic was particularly deadly and killed over 40 million people, ranging from ages 25-40, in less than one year.

According to the World Health Organization, we are currently at stage 5 of its six-step classification system. At stage 5, there has been human-to-human spread of the virus in at least two countries in the same region. There is a strong possibility it could reach pandemic proportions when it reaches this point.

With level 6, a global pandemic has begun, including community level outbreaks in at least one additional region.

There have been unconfirmed reports that the news agency CNN states, we will be at level 6 within three days. I would take that report with a grain of salt, however.

• Body aches
• Chills and fatigue
• Cough
• Fever
• Headache
• Sore throat

As of late Thursday, there were 257 cases of swine flu with confirmed deaths in 11 countries worldwide including Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and the United States.

In the United States, there are six states to report confirmed and suspected cases of swine flu including:

• California
• Kansas
• Michigan
• New York City
• Ohio
• Texas

These six states in the United States that have closed schools, have affected some 53,000 students in Texas alone. Wider school closings may be necessary to prevent the spread of swine flu

The flu is generally transmitted to the respiratory tract in the form of tiny droplets that pass out of a person when they cough or sneeze.

Studies have shown that masks called N95 respirators filter the germs, thus preventing the spread of the disease, when properly used.

There has been no evidence that either contact with pigs or eating pork can cause this condition.

However, the majority of people with this condition recover fully without medical intervention or antiviral drugs.

This doesn't mean you should not see a physician, if you contract swine influenza, of course, you should.

But, fortunately, for every pandemic that has occurred since then, the numbers have continued to decrease. The 1957-1958 pandemic caused 70,000 deaths while the 1967 and 1968 pandemic caused 33,000 deaths.

The strength of the virus certainly matters, but public health measures put in place by the respective governments clearly make a big difference.

This translates to, hopefully, fewer losses of life should one occur. Let's keep our fingers crossed.