Editorial
Swine flu, pandemics, and critical care
-
Correspondence: Steven M Opal steven_opal@brown.edu
Infectious Disease Division, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, USA
Infectious Disease Service, Memorial Hospital of Rhode Island, 111 Brewster Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860, USA
Critical Care 2009, 13:146 doi:10.1186/cc7872
Published: 15 May 2009First paragraph (this article has no abstract)
The recent discovery of a new strain of swine flu (officially known as influenza A/H1N1/Mexico City 2009) and the ensuing epidemic demonstrate the collective vulnerability of humankind to pandemic spread of respiratory viruses. We have been planning for pandemic influenza for decades and it is now upon us. This new strain is a hybrid virus, with its major surface hemagglutinin antigen sequences derived from swine, human, and avian flu sources. This new virus is highly communicable by human-to-human transmission; fortunately, at least thus far, it appears to have relatively low pathogenicity potential, with an overall low mortality rate in the single digits. The growing pandemic is centered primarily on young, healthy, adolescent populations. This segment of the population is typically highly mobile and exposed to crowded environments (schools, social gatherings, and traveling) and is infrequently immunized with annual influenza vaccines. The degree of protection afforded by previous vaccination with prior influenza A H1N1 strain antigens is currently the matter of some debate.