Swine Flu Scare | Media Scare, Global Pandemic of Swine Flu 1976, 2009

The announcement of the World Health Organization last June 11, 2009, raising the H1N1 flu alert level from Phase 5 to Phase 6 had created a swine flu scare to almost all people across the country. The massive outbreak of swine flu media scares the entire globe from east to west and north to south. Hundreds of educational institutions were temporarily closed because of the swine flu spreading mostly in schools.

However, long before the swine flu scare 2009 attacked recently, the influenza virus had already caused much threats to the world over the years. Some of these outbreaks that have caused massive threats were the 1976 swine flu scare and the 1977 Russian flu outbreak.

Swine Flu 1976 Outbreak: Guillain-Barre Syndrome

Sometime in the year 1976, a similar strain of the H1N1 influenza virus was detected in the United States. The discovery of the said influenza virus had made the U.

S. government to administer massive vaccination programs throughout the country. However, there was only one fatal case reported in that year.

It was later reported that most people who participated in the vaccination program have developed Guillain-Barrẻ syndrome, a neuromuscular disorder. The swine flu vaccination was pointed to be the cause of the said syndrome. This indeed made the public apprehensive. And immediately after the news came out, Americans refused to receive H1N1 vaccine shots.

The country’s immunization program was eventually stopped in the month of December after receiving several complaints. It was recorded that there were only less than 33 percent of the entire U.S. population who agreed to be immunized in that year. It was later on called the 1976 swine flu outbreak or the swine flu debacle.

The Russian Swine Flu Outbreak

Between the year 1977 and 1978, the Russian flu was also discovered, and was said to have been caused by the same H1N1 virus strain. The Russian flu mostly targeted the children or young individuals. An influenza vaccine was later on developed to stop the Russian flu outbreak.

Swine Flu Scare 2009

The 2009 swine flu outbreak had indeed been the most dangerous influenza attack. This can be compared to the 1918 outbreak where about 50 to 100 million people were killed by the influenza virus. The 2009 swine flu scares the public especially when the WHO raised its alert level to Phase 6 or the pandemic level. United States’ President Barack Obama officially announced and proclaimed the 2009 H1N1 outbreak to be a national emergency.

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