Influenza Pandemic 2009

The contagious viral infection that emerged in 2009 was unexpected and sent shockwaves across the globe as it came many years after the worldwide flu pandemics occurring in 1918, 1957, and 1986. This new pandemic spiraled out of control unexpectedly causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to call it the first pandemic of the 21st century, due to many outbreaks across the globe (Bartolotti, R. 2012). The objective of this paper is to focus on the information and to clearly establish all measures of the outbreak, pathogenesis, epidemiology, response, and preparedness. The original influenza A (H1N1) is a disease that causes harsh symptoms in the respiratory area. It is a virus that is very rare in humans, however, regularly causes outbreaks in pigs. Influenza is predominantly a respiratory virus that causes both upper and lower-respiratory symptoms (National Institute, 2012). Influenza symptoms include coughing, and breathing problems, sore throat, runny rose and congestion. The first case of H1N1 influenza was publicized in the United States on April 15th, 2009. It was first spotted in California and Texas, but soon managed to spread across the globe. During this time period, an outbreak of the disease was also present in Mexico. The H1N1 Influenza pandemic occurred in two waves; the first wave appeared in the spring season, and the second wave took place in the fall of 2009. A great amount of citizens including children, young adults, and pregnant women were severely affected by the virus, as compared to the typical influenza season (Colon, R. 2012 p9). The spread of the H1N1 virus mainly occurs similarly to how normal seasonal flu spreads. Flu viruses generally spread through physical contact between two people. A common example would be through sneezing, coughing, or being in the presence of someone with influenza. Furthermore, touching an object that has been in the presence of a flu virus is quite dangerous if there is no immediate sanitation of the

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