Swine flu a public health event of international concern

Ask any school child older than 13 years of age to tell you something about World War I, the war to end all wars, and the chances are that they will at least have some sort of vague understanding of what transpired between 1914 to 1918 on the killing fields of Europe. After all, what school worthy of the name would offer a course in history without covering a chapter in human history where 16-million people were killed and about 21-million were wounded?

Then ask those same children what they know about the Spanish Flu pandemic which broke out in 1918 and they’ll probably start giggling at you, believing that you have somehow stumbled upon the name of a famous aphrodisiac that has been discussed on school playgrounds since time immemorial. Yet the current estimates are that that particular pandemic, which ran from 1918 to 1919, wiped out between 50-million to 100-million people before it had run its course.

In other words, an event that exacted a human toll at least three times as severe as World War I is, for the most part, a non-event as far as the vast majority on this planet are concerned.

The reality is that there is nothing sexy about a virus that killed with impunity, that could not be halted by generals or marching bands and, if we are to be honest with ourselves, that we did not overcome but rather saw itself off as it finally petered out. Where were the heroes, the self-sacrifice and the guts and glory that Hollywood and the history books could capture in print and on film ready to be devoured by the masses?

There weren’t any and this period passed by largely unnoticed, save for those who came across it in passing or as part of their careers which were primarily involved with science or medicine.

The fact of the matter is that the World Health Organisation has been issuing sporadic warnings of an impending pandemic for a while now. The last time out we were advised that a particularly virulent form of Bird Flu could wreak untold havoc on the planet if it mutated sufficiently to allow easy transfer from human to human as opposed to the isolated cases being experienced by those exposed to birds on a regular basis.

Currently we are being told by the WHO that a deadly strain of flu which is made up of a combination of Swine, Avian and Human viruses has killed more than 100 people in Mexico and may well be a “public health event of international concern”. It is already being encountered in the US and fears are growing that it may well have travelled far further than that.

“The last flu pandemic was in 1968 when “Hong Kong” flu killed about one million people globally. A new pandemic would deal a major blow to a world economy already knocked into its worst recession in decades by the crisis in financial markets. (Mail & Guardian)

As we in Southern Africa witnessed recently, an outbreak of cholera in Zimbabwe, where the health system had been ravaged by mismanagement, corruption and neglect, can have a devastating effect on the local population. A pandemic of this kind would magnify the problem exponentially with SADC countries battling to cope with their own cases, never mind assisting weaker neighbours such as Zimbabwe.

As we have seen with HIV/Aids Africa is not very adept at containing outbreaks, with a refusal or neglect to tackle these issues until the body bags are piling up. Zimbabwe denied the problem with cholera and South Africa approached Aids with somewhat “unique” treatments before the message sunk home. Hopefully we have learned our lesson this time out.

The Health Ministry, which I’m sure they are, must be keeping up to date with all the latest medicines and procedures to be followed to isolate and treat victims as soon as they are picked up. In addition, as much information as possible must be made available to the public on how best to avoid contracting the virus or what to do if they believe they or someone they know may have become a victim thereof.

Even if this outbreak does not become a pandemic the lessons learned in preparing for such an eventuality will prove invaluable.

What made the Spanish Flu of 1918 so devastating was mankind’s ability to cross the globe far quicker than ever before. By today’s standards they were travelling at a snail’s pace. Accordingly, developments in communications and medicine which will assist in containing and treating or finding answers to the problems this challenge might offer could be offset against the lightening speed with which it might be visited upon populations.

Vigilance and education will assist in limiting that impact.

Be aware.

Cartoon: Swine flu proves useful in South Africa