In this day of international travel, where one can circle the glove in 24 hours, it is imperative that governments and countries respond to uncertain, different things quickly and effectively. China hid SARS, even though they were fully aware of its’ mortality rate, and did not tell the world intentionally, which for me as a medical professional, is a criminal act. Mexico just failed to recognize the implications quickly enough and lacked the public health infrastructure to act on it properly. That doesn’t get them fully off the hook, as Mexico is not a poor country by standards in many parts of the world, it just has a situation where too much of the GNP goes to too few and the government fails to take enough of it to adequately set up health infrastructure with it. The US is becoming the same way.

However, this was a type of virus which held the potential for a real, honest to goodness pandemic of epic proportions because of the way in which modern travel has opened us up to worldwide transmission quickly. This virus could still mutate very quickly and become a huge killer. Hopefully, they will have a vaccine for it by the fall, when the transmission should pick up, and it will not have mutated in the interim. That should tamp it down greatly.

The flu does kill many around the world every year, but it primarily kills those who are weak, as in the very young who haven’t fully developed immune systems and the very old. That doesn’t mean that it is insignificant, because it is. This one seemed, at first, to be hitting those with the best immune systems hardest. Additionally, we must remember that the 1918 pandemic did the same thing, because the type of flu involved was a new kind of flu, the immune systems of the young and healthy over-responded to it because of that, causing greater damage to the mucosa in the respiratory sytem and set the sufferers up for death due to viral and secondary bacterial pneumonia deaths. This flu is a new flu, or a new type which means that no one has a significant immune response to recognize it and not over react, as was the 1918 flu.

I wish the best to Mexico and the world on this. The WHO responded mostly in the correct way, and when things such as this hit, we cannot wait days in order to respond in this day of globalization. Days could mean the difference between a relatively small number of casualties, and perhaps hundreds of millions, or even a billion people.

The appearance of H1N1 represented a new type of influenza against which humans have no pre-existing immunity. If the avian/swine/human strain had proven to be virulent and deadly, there would have been a massive disaster.

Exactly the measures that were taken by closing schools and events prevented H1N1 from becoming a huge problem. These are standard disease outbreak procedures utilized because they are scientifically known to work. Public health authorities are working hard to protect our own lives. “Everyone stay home” does work. It makes the flu “disappear.” Since new infections are very limited, the spread dies out.

Lastly, there is a difference between seasonal flu and pandemic flu. While too lengthy to describe in a comment, the main differences are the infection rate and the fatality rate. Changes of a small percent in either direction makes a huge difference.

In 1918, the “three day fever” appeared in the Spring to mild effect. Everyone thought it was gone. In the Fall, it reappeared with a vengeance. Over 50 million people worldwide died. In the USA, authorities were concerned that society itself would cease to function. In some areas, people starved to death because family and friends deserted them at the first sign of the deadly flu.

And that was before air travel and the population densities we have today. It’s better to be careful, than fail to heed warnings.

They created this just to get our attention? Why are they NOT doing anything about the 3000+ AMERICANS Who DIE every month from “Ordiinary” Flu/Gripe? What ??? gives them the right to disrupt the 2nd Largest $$$ Generator for Mexico….TOURISM! Not only have we had to Battle the Double Whammy of a Declining World Economy & Drug Related Violence Scares NOW THIS!

We on Isla Holbox are getting ready to kick-off our “SWIM With Whale Shark” Season May 15th & now we’re getting Sporadic Cancellations from Americans Worried for their Lives? SUCH HOG-WASH! Somebody is online to make BIG $$$$$$ From this nonsense. Next we’ll be told YES we found the Cure Get your $$$$ VACCINE Shot now so “IF” it comes back, you’ll be protected…………YEA RIGHT! As they say in Brooklyn Forgetaboutit!! Thank God this did not hit in the Middle of Summer Tourist Season.

The WHALE SHARKS are immune They Cannot GET or RE-Transmit the FLU! Come to Isla Holbox where we’ve had NOT ONE Case of this Bogus Illness!

What Next? YES 2012 is coming Time for a MAJOR CLEANSING” !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The CDC page actually says that 5% to 20% of the population get the flu and 200,000 are hospitalized each year.