H1N1: A real life public health drill

With the hype over this global pandemic intensifying, there appears to be an argument as to what this illness should be called. As the world waits intently for a vaccine to be developed, the only method of containment is isolation. With expected rise in the number of cases, it will surely become more costly and labour intensive to maintain a reasonable tab on the cases and their respective contacts. What then can we expect in the coming months?

The origins of this strain of influenza A (H1N1) is still relatively unknown although it closely resembles those found among pigs. It is clearly a mutated strain. Fortunately, the virulence of this virus is low as compared to their cousins, the bird flu or the SARS virus. Most confirmed cases are usually well and might have recovered even without the aid of Tamiflu. Why then are we concentrating our healthcare resources on a ‘mild’ virus?

My belief is that previous deadly encounters with firstly the SARS virus and then the bird flu, has made Asian countries extremely sensitive to such viral outbreaks. The consequences of inaction is no longer acceptable to the general public. Therefore, Governments have taken a cautious approach lest they be accused of being lackadaisical. I prefer to belief that this ‘real life drill’ could be paramount in our future responses to more deadly air borne viruses.

The virus is bound to spread further and the numbers of confirmed cases is expected to rise. Our actions of containment appears only to delay the inevitable. It is hoped that with increasing infections, the global community will develop a herd immunity towards this virus. Until and unless, a vaccine becomes readily available, our strategies only appear to be surmountable barriers for the virus.

Our only prayer is that this virus will not mutate into a more deadly virulent strain that could then inflict high number of casualties.