Swine Flu H1N1 Still Rising What Does Increase In Swine Flu H1N1 Cases Mean For Second Wave Of Swine Flu

We haven’t heard as much about H1N1 Swine flu in the past week and a half or so – many authorities are blaming news overload for the backlash against Swine Flu H1N1 reporting. Cases of H1N1 Swine flu are still rising, and do not appear to be slowing down in terms of number of new infections. The mortality rate has leveled off, but with the southwest US and Mexico back to pre-flu activity, is the chance for a more deadly second wave of H1N1 Swine Flu on the rise?

WHO is reporting:

3 June 2009, 66 countries have officially reported 19,273 cases of influenza A(H1N1) infection, including 117 deaths.

What are experts saying about this new more relaxed attitude towardsH1N1 Swine flu? Could it lead to a more deadly or more dangerous second wave of H1N1 Swine flu in the fall?

The novel influenza A (H1N1) virus “sneaked in the door while health authorities who should have known better were busy closing windows,” said Carol J. Cardona, DVM, PhD, ACPV, from the Department of Population Health and Reproduction, and professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, to an overflow crowd of thoracic and critical-care physicians.

“This virus has followed the pattern of all historic pandemics, and we’ve missed some precursors out there and we’ve missed some signals,” Dr. Cardona said. She is a virologist and an expert in determining how disease-causing agents damage their hosts. Dr. Cardona’s segment of the presentation was entitled “Swine Flu: Molecular Clues to the Origin, Transmission, and Pathogenesis of the Virus.”