U.S. declares swine flu public health emergency

William Atkins
Tuesday, 28 April 2009 18:31

Science - Health

On Sunday, April 26, 2009, the United States declared a public health emergency for a new strain of influenza commonly called swine flu. U.S. health officials are concerned with a possible global pandemic of the flu that started in Mexico. However, they state the declaration is a precaution.


So far, as of April 26, 2009, in the United States, twenty confirmed cases of swine flu have been reported, with eight of them in New York City alone.

As of April 27, 2009, almost 200 people have died from it in Mexico and over 2000 people have been infected worldwide.

The new swine flu strain is influenza (flu) that is caused by one or more viruses within the family called Orthomyxoviridae. It originates in pigs, which is why it is called swine flu.

The official name of this flu strain is “Influenzavirus A, subtype H1N1,” which includes several separate strains of this subtype that occur in humans and pigs. The strains that occur in pigs are known as swine influenza virus (SIV).

All of the strains are called Influenzavirus A (except in rare cases when it is called Influenzavirus C). The subtype “H1N1,” within Influenzavirus A, is the most common cause of the flu in humans.

People working with swine are at increased risk of infection from these animals if the animals carry a strain that is also able to transfer and infect humans. The strain responsible for this swine flu outbreak in 2009 has mutated when it moved from pigs to humans.

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