As another day passes with the World Health Organization (WHO) not declaring that the swine flu outbreak is a full pandemic -scale, more questions are surfacing about why this novel H1N1 has not spread as easily in European and Asian communities such as the USA, Mexico and perhaps Canada. During press conferences held today by WHO and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), officials have suggested that the virus was widespread in the Americas before it is detected, making it almost impossible to confine. Europe and Asia, by contrast, had a heads-up, and countries have closely monitored travelers returning from North America, with many infected people and their close contacts on antiviral drugs and to force some patients stay in isolation.
WHO and CDC note that the daily event that they have provided have many limitations, because they tend to pick the most serious cases first. CDC said it is now more interested in trends that the number of specific cases. But the numbers are still counted, and as of today, WHO reported that there were over 5,0 confirmed cases in 30 countries, almost 0% were in Mexico and the United States.
Nikki Shindo, who is leading the clinical team of the Global Programme of WHO influenza, said each country responds according to its own plan and resources. "European countries, which are mainly importing the cases, have resorted to very aggressive antivirals," Shindo said. "Maybe in Asia, because of the experience with SARS and H5N1 avian infection, they would like to hold a higher level of security and preparedness and prevention in relation to this outbreak of H1N1. " In North America, Shindo noted, treatment with antiviral medicines is largely reserved for severe cases and those who are more at risk of the virus because of other problems or underlying health of pregnancy.
Shindo said that no data can still prove that antivirals work against this new H1N1 virus to diminish the seriousness of studies and the spread of the disease, but a test tube have shown that the virus can resist no to drugs.
Anne Schuchat, acting Deputy Director of the CDC for science and public health, in particular stressed the need for pregnant women receive antiviral, noting that there have been 20 confirmed cases and one death in this group. Schuchat said CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report publish data on those cases in pregnant women "fairly quickly".
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