The course of Swine Flu in Australia may predict how bad the disease is going to be in the western hemisphere.
Australia is in the southern hemisphere thus they are currently in their prime flu season.
More than 20,000 people have been confirmed to have H1N1 and 60 or more have died as a result of the virus.
At any given point in July and August, 2009, around 400 people were in the hospital including more than 100 in Intensive Care units.
The Australian Department of Health and Aging has implemented the PROTECT program.
They believe that containing the outbreaks is the best policy right now and no more sweeping measures are needed.
H1N1 is a virus that mutated, combining four strains of influenza (human, avian, and pig) into one that can be transmitted from human to human.
It probably originated in Asia and was carried to North America by travelers.
The disease first came into the public's awareness when Mexico City virtually shut down in April, 2009 as a result of so many illnesses.
Swine Flu has now been spread to almost every country on the globe with more than 175,000 confirmed infections and 1100 deaths.
The American based Centers for Disease Control estimates that 40 percent of people in the United States will come down with the illness sometime in the next two years.
They base these figures largely on how Swine Flu in Australia has progressed because Australia has a comprehensive medical system which is comparable to other western health delivery programs.
Australia may be coming to the end of the traditional influenza season, but it is just starting up in North America, Europe and Asia.
So, there's a lot to be learned from Swine Flu in Australia.
Australia is in the southern hemisphere thus they are currently in their prime flu season.
More than 20,000 people have been confirmed to have H1N1 and 60 or more have died as a result of the virus.
At any given point in July and August, 2009, around 400 people were in the hospital including more than 100 in Intensive Care units.
The Australian Department of Health and Aging has implemented the PROTECT program.
They believe that containing the outbreaks is the best policy right now and no more sweeping measures are needed.
H1N1 is a virus that mutated, combining four strains of influenza (human, avian, and pig) into one that can be transmitted from human to human.
It probably originated in Asia and was carried to North America by travelers.
The disease first came into the public's awareness when Mexico City virtually shut down in April, 2009 as a result of so many illnesses.
Swine Flu has now been spread to almost every country on the globe with more than 175,000 confirmed infections and 1100 deaths.
The American based Centers for Disease Control estimates that 40 percent of people in the United States will come down with the illness sometime in the next two years.
They base these figures largely on how Swine Flu in Australia has progressed because Australia has a comprehensive medical system which is comparable to other western health delivery programs.
Australia may be coming to the end of the traditional influenza season, but it is just starting up in North America, Europe and Asia.
So, there's a lot to be learned from Swine Flu in Australia.
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