Swine Flu is Spreading in Southern Hemisphere
The swine flu has gained a foothold in Australia and the number of cases have been doubling about every two days. This may well prompt the World Health Organization to declare the first flu pandemic in more than four decades, according to an Australian public health expert yesterday.
Experts believe the virulence of the swine flu may well reveal itself during the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months. Australia’s winter is from June 1 to Aug. 31. Swine flu infections are expected to peak in Australia in July. This is because the flu virus thrives in colder, drier weather and is transmitted easily when people stay close together indoors.
Pandemic experts will be closely monitoring the upcoming behavior of this swine flu virus in Australia where it can spread easily, possibly gain strength by mutating, and then re-enter the Northern Hemisphere in the fall, as the devastating swine flu virus did in 1918.
Image courtesy of the CIA (www.cia.gov)
Source: “Swine Flu Cases in Australia May Prompt Pandemic Call”, Bloomberg.com, June 1, 2009
Source: World Health Organization, June 2, 2009
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