tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191186405357443063.post5080236985415034010..comments2023-10-26T00:07:03.824+08:00Comments on New Philippine Revolution: First Community Outbreak of H1N1 in PhilippinesPatricio Mangubathttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15638744667769552303noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1191186405357443063.post-47546145422489867232009-06-25T18:50:05.895+08:002009-06-25T18:50:05.895+08:00You mistakenly wrote:
"The reason why other ...You mistakenly wrote:<br /><br />"The reason why other countries tried to contain the virus is it wants to avoid such mixing of genetic material from this virus to the next to avoid a contagious situation, similar to the 1918-1920 Spanish flu global pandemic which killed 600 million people."<br /><br />No, the reason other countries tried to contain the spread was to 1. to "buy time" for preparing for eventual and inevitable widespread community transmission, and to try to reduce the numbers of people sick at any one time, so that health care systems could function better.<br /><br />Many countries did, misleadingly, imply that they could "stop" the spread. The word "containment" itself implies that. But it is not stoppable, as WHO Director General Margaret Chan has said. That is what "pandemic influenza" viruses do: they spread.<br /><br />The 1918 Spanish Flu is believed to have killed between 50 and 100 million people. Ghastly -- but much lower than 600 million.<br /><br />And lastly, the flu virus can mutate regardless of whether it is infecting people who are weak and sick, or people who are healthy.<br /><br />The 1957 pandemic was relatively mild. The 1968 pandemic was even milder. The only ghastly flu pandemic in the last 100 years was 1918.<br /><br />There is no way RP could stop the flu from eventually circulating everywhere in RP. Same with every other country -- except perhaps some island nation somewhere, but even that is unlikely. In 1918, only some very isolated villages and one island that I know of kept influenza out.<br /><br />Many governments have set themselves up for blame by implying that "containment" meant "stopping" or "keeping out" the flu. <br /><br />They should have said from Day One, loudly and repeatedly, that "containment" was a temporary measure to help everyone get ready, and to reduce the speed of spread to reduce burden on health care systems so that patients could get better care.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com