Back in April we covered the swine flu extensively here on A Disease A Day. With time, things didn’t seem as critical as they were in the beginning (even you said so in our poll).

Now things seem to take a new direction, as the disease is taking its toll worldwide. Here are the new facts:

1. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 out of every 3 people in the world (or 2 billion people) will be infected with the disease over the next two years.
2. By the time you read this, 1,012 people have died as a result of the swine flu, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) in Stockholm.
3. In Europe, the disease has spread to 30 out of 31 countries in the European Union. In the UK, 30 people have died of the disease and the government has promised a supply of Tamiflu drugs sufficient for treating half the population in the British Isles (more than any other country). In Spain, 6 people have died so far. In France, the country’s strategy of treating swine flu victims in hospitals to curb the spread of the virus has been abandoned, acknowledging the disease had spread too far to be contained.
4. More from the UK: kindergarten teachers have been instructed to throw away soft toys, in order to spread growth of bacteria in them.
5. In the US more than a million people have been infected with the swine flu. Fortunately, their condition isn’t life threatening. Predictions are that these numbers will grow faster come Fall.
6. 3 cities in the US – Seattle, Chicago and New York City have the highest numbers of infected people.
7. A new study published this week claims that the virus can damage the developing brains of unborn offspring, meaning that pregnant women should stay as clear as they can of anyone known to be infected.

More masks in the near future? Photo by Guerry.

What does this all mean? No one knows for sure. One of the biggest fears is Winter, a problematic time for “regular” flu, which might turn as problematic for swine flu and raise the number of casualties even further.

What next?

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Related posts:

1. In The News – Swine Flu (Influenza) – All You Wanted To Know
2. China to Provide First Swine Flu Vaccines
3. The Swine Flu Poll – What’s Your Take?
4. The Swine Flu Poll – Results
5. In The News – Plague – The Next Swine Flu?