an acute and highly contagious respiratory disease of swine caused by the orthomyxovirus thought to be the same virus that caused the 1918 influenza pandemic
An outbreak of swine flu in Mexico has raised concerns worldwide that the disease could be emerging as a global pandemic.
a respiratory disease of unknown etiology that apparently originated in mainland China in 2003; characterized by fever and coughing or difficulty breathing or hypoxia; can be fatal
The virus that caused widespread panic in Asia in 2003, SARS -- severe acute respiratory syndrome -- is both easily spread and virulent.
Even a flu with a low percentage of lethality can cause a large number of deaths if vast swaths of populations are infected -- seasonal flus kill an estimated 250,000 to 500,000 people worldwide each year.
(virology) ultramicroscopic infectious agent that replicates itself only within cells of living hosts; many are pathogenic; a piece of nucleic acid (DNA or RNA) wrapped in a thin coat of protein
On April 29, 2009, the World Health Organization raised its alert level to its highest level ever in response to the fast-spreading virus, indicating that a "pandemic is imminent."
immunogen consisting of a suspension of weakened or dead pathogenic cells injected in order to stimulate the production of antibodies
Federal officials said it would take until January, or late November at the earliest, to make enough vaccine to protect all Americans from a possible epidemic of the H1N1 flu.
the act of containing; keeping something from spreading
International health experts, who say the epidemic will spread regardless of attempts at containment, advise against closing borders, which will not stop the virus but could cause economic collapse and possibly increase the death rate.
(of disease) capable of being transmitted by infection
But it has shown very little ability to pass from person to person, mainly infecting poultry, and some experts have suggested that there may be something about the H5N1 virus that makes it inherently less transmissible among people.
a disease transmitted only by a specific kind of contact
This outbreak has caused concern because officials have never seen this particular strain of the flu passing among humans before, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
As the virus has continued to spread without causing deaths or even large numbers of hospitalization, many experts have been questioning whether the new strain of flu is deadlier than normal seasonal flu.
The most common method of transmission is airborne, and it is also possible to become infected by touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching one's mouth or nose.
the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area; expressed per 1000 per year
As a benchmark, the deadliest influenza pandemic in the past century, the Spanish influenza of 1918 to 1919, had an estimated mortality rate of around 2.5 percent but killed tens of millions of people because it spread so widely.
(of disease) capable of being transmitted by infection
In one sign that the disease may not be as serious as feared, Mexican Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova said that the flu, influenza A(H1N1), appears only slightly more contagious than the seasonal flu, less than thought.
(medicine) the condition in which an organism can resist disease
Most people lack immunity to this new virus and, as it continues to spread, health officials are expecting more patients in hospital and more deaths in the coming days and weeks.
Unlike typical flu seasons, when infants and the aged are the most vulnerable, none of the initial deaths in Mexico were in people older than 60 or younger than 3, a spokeswoman with the World Health Organization said.
pandemic
