H1N1 Flu Milder than Feared
Global Spread to Continue
FrontLines - June 2009
By Ben Barber
Between April and mid-May,
more than 10,000 people in at
least 40 countries were infected
with a new form of the Influenza
A (H1N1) virus that contains
segments of bird, swine, and
human flu viruses.
So far, nearly 100 people
have died.
Given the potential of this
new virus to spread rapidly and
become a pandemic, USAID
responded quickly, especially in
the Americas where the H1N1
outbreak started. The first steps
included distribution of protective clothing and other aid—some of
which had been previously stockpiled
to fight H5N1 avian flu.
Following the rapid spread of
the new virus, the World Health
Organization (WHO) on April
29 raised its pandemic alert level
from Phase 4 to Phase 5, indicating
sustained human-to-human
spread of a novel virus in two
countries in one WHO region.
“We do not know whether
this outbreak will become severe
or remain mild as it appears to
be at the moment,” said Dennis
Carroll, special advisor to the Acting Administrator on pandemic
influenza. “Additional
work is underway to determine
the virulence of this virus and
track any changes in the virus
over time.”
WHO Director-General Dr.
Margaret Chan said: “We do not
know how long we have until
we move to Phase 6, which indicates
we are in a pandemic. We
are not there yet. The criteria
will be met when we see, in one
region outside North America, clear evidence of communitylevel
transmission.”
She said that experience with
H5N1 avian flu over the past
decade has taught the world to
expect a pandemic and to plan
for this event. As a result, the
world is now better prepared for
an influenza pandemic than at
any time in history.
Historically, influenza pandemics
have circled the globe in
multiple waves. The deadly 1918
H1N1 pandemic started with a
mild wave and was followed by
a much more lethal wave of the
disease.
Chan said that “this virus has
quickly demonstrated its capacity
to spread easily from one person
to another, to spread widely
within an affected country, and to
spread rapidly to additional countries.
We expect this pattern of
international spread to continue.”
USAID’s humanitarian assistance
in response to the H1N1
virus as of May 19 was $6.24
million. This includes $5 million
to WHO and the Pan American
Health Organization to detect
and control H1N1 in Mexico and
other countries.
USAID is also providing
support to the U.N. Food
and Agriculture Organization
(FAO) for surveillance of the
new H1N1 virus in animals in
Central and South America. As
of May 18, USAID has also
delivered 130,000 protective
clothing kits to Latin America.
On May 1, USAID established
an influenza task force to assist
countries around the globe to
limit the spread of the virus and
reduce the mortality and social
and economic impact from the
disease. At the core of USAID’s
response is the prevention of
deaths related to H1N1 influenza
through monitoring, prevention,
treatment, and assuring food
security. Response measures
include informing the public
about respiratory hygiene, social
distancing, and other behaviors
that should be adopted during an
influenza pandemic. At the same
time, USAID will support continued
monitoring of the virus to
track any changes in virulence.
The Agency is also launching
a program to pre-empt or combat
new diseases in humans that
originate in animals. This builds
on work to control the H5N1
avian flu and H1N1 influenza
viruses and includes: monitoring
wild animal populations; training
animal and human health teams
to investigate and respond to
emergent diseases; strengthening
animal- and public-health
diagnostic laboratories; and
supporting behavior change and
communications efforts to reduce
the risk of disease transmission
from animals to humans.
★
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by the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs
U.S. Agency for International Development
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