H1N1 PANDEMIC

Deut.28:21-22

²¹ The LORD shall make the pestilence cleave unto thee, until he have consumed thee from off the land, whither thou goest to possess it.

²² The LORD shall smite thee with a consumption, and with a fever, and with an inflammation, and with an extreme burning, and with the sword, and with blasting, and with mildew; and they shall pursue thee until thou perish.

'Influenza' A (H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenza A virus and was the most common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009. Some strains of H1N1 areendemic in humans and cause a small fraction of all influenza-like illness and a small fraction of all seasonal influenza. H1N1 (pronounced "HEE-NEE" by healthcare professionals) strains caused a small percentage of all human flu infections in 2004–2005.^[1] Other strains of H1N1 are endemic in pigs (swine influenza) and in birds (avian influenza).

In June 2009, the World Health Organization declared the new strain of swine-origin H1N1 as a pandemic. This strain is often called swine flu by the public media. This novel virus spread worldwide and had caused about 17,000 deaths by the start of 2010. On August 10, 2010, the World Health Organizationdeclared the H1N1 influenza pandemic over, saying worldwide flu activity had returned to typical seasonal patterns.

As of 26 April 2011, an H1N1 pandemic preparedness alert has been issued by the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the Americas.^[3] The affected areas have included the Chihuahua region of Mexico where its severity and work load have been high. It is reported by the aforementioned Recombinomics source that the current vaccine (California/7/2009) for H1N1 influenza might be losing its effectiveness in 2011. This point is all the more significant since it is the current virus target for the northern hemisphere's flu vaccine, and is the intended choice for the southern hemisphere.