Swine Flu — Will it Cause a Pandemic or Fizzle Out?
Nobody knows whether swine influenza A (H1N1) will cause a pandemic, become endemic in humans causing continuous small outbreaks, or fizzle out and disappear, according to Dr. Klaus Stohr in an article in MedPage Today.
“If the virus were to “disappear” though, that would not necessarily eliminate the need to prepare for its re-emergence if it remained in an animal reservoir”, said Klaus Stohr, D.V.M., vice president and global head of Novartis Vaccines and Diagnostics and former head of the World Health Organization’s global influenza program. “The earliest the public would see a vaccine against the disease would be September”, a researcher said at the conference on Influenza Vaccines for the World, according to MedPage Today.
The swine flu outbreak serves as “a stark reminder of the unpredictability of the timing and of the speed by which the pandemic situation can change,” Dr. Klaus added.
Read more:
- What’s the Difference Between a Cold and the Flu?
- About Influenza
- Diagnosis and Treatment of the Flu
Source: MedPage Today, April 29, 2009
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