Swine Flu Epidemic

In 2009 the United States of America, along with the rest of the world, was experiencing

a disease that no one knew anything about and even worse, didn’t know how to treat it. Swine

flu, also known as H1N1, is a respiratory disease that spread in 2009 causing a mass infection

and killing greater than 15,000 people (Rogers). This disease qualifies well over being an

epidemic and it pushing the envelope to be a pandemic. This disease began in Mexico and made

its way across the world in a matter of no time at all.

The swine flu was marked as the first influenza epidemic in the twenty first century

(Rogers). During this time many children and young adults were infected by the disease but what

was eye opening was that the older population, anyone over 60, were not reported as being

infected (Lisa Schnirring). The swine flu began in Mexico in March 2009 but at this time people

were experiencing respiratory issues and didn’t have any clue as to what the cause was. On

March 7, 2009 the disease had moved to the United States. During that time 35 states had

reported widespread activity and 14 states reported regional activity but it wasn’t classified as an

epidemic just yet because not many deaths had been recorded. On March 14, 2009 4 more states

had reported regional activity but still no deaths. On March 30, 2009 a little boy and girl passed

away, both were tested and were documented as the first US citizens to die of the swine flu. On

April 27, 2009 Canada had six positive cases of H1N1 confirmed, Spain had one positive case

and the United Kingdom had two positive cases. By May 2009 the United States had confirmed

155 cases. Throughout the month of May cases grew tremendously, World Health Organization

confirmed 40 countries with 8,829 cases and 74 deaths. Japan, Taiwan, Panama, Norway etc.

were now all infected with this horrible disease. This epidemic lasted from March 2009 to

August 2010 when the World Health Organization declared the H1N1 over (MacKenzie). When

it was all over everyone was in shock, how could something we know absolutely nothing about

take over everyone and even take lives? This pushed researchers to dive hard into learning about

the virus that just infected everyone. When enough outbreaks had occurred, people were

beginning to become scared and doctors had to quickly find a vaccine to stop this outbreak.

After extensive research into the virus that caused such an event they ruled it back to

contact with pigs and that’s how they named the disease, the Swine flu (Rogers). Birds and

insects carry disease on a daily basis but when a pig is infected they act as a “mixing vessel” for

a new virus to form (Swine Influenza in Humans). When a human comes in contact with a pig its

then transmitted and then transmitted from human to human through daily activity. The first

signs and symptoms of the swine flu were just those as the regular flu but inflamed. People

suffered with fever, cough, sore throat, chills and body aches. They can have gastrointestinal

issues such as diarrhea, nausea or vomiting and can be very sore feeling (Familydoctor). The

swine flu effected many people in the city, state, country and world. The timeline itself shows

that the virus was everywhere and wasn’t stopping for anyone. No one could run from it or

prevent it from infecting them because no one knew how to prevent it. Nowadays though if

someone were to be infected with the swine flu it can be treated just the same as the regular flu

and in a way humans have built up an immune to it, it won’t affect the population the way it did

in 2009. Medicine has evolved and researchers have learned so much from the outbreak that we

are prepared for anything to come.

On October 2009 a story of a woman named Aubrey Opdyke was written on a blog in the

NY Times. Aubrey was pregnant during the time of the outbreak and pregnant women are highly

vulnerable to the disease. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that since

April 2009, 100 pregnant women were place in intensive care and 28 had passed away. Aubrey

lived in Florida and was hospitalized due to an infection of the virus, Aubrey was a survivor, but

her baby was not. In the four months Aubrey was in the hospital she spent five weeks in a coma,

suffered six collapsed lungs and near-fatal seizures. The nurses had her hooked up to a ventilator

that was pushing air with such force that Aubrey was stretched tremendously and now has stretch

marks from her neck to her ankles. From the incident she has such weak lungs and muscles that

she has to rely on a walker to help her get around. During her time in the hospital she missed her

four year old daughter learning to swim and beginning preschool, something a mother never

should have to miss. As for the unborn baby, her third lung collapsed and so she was delivered c-

section and lived for 7 minutes before passing away. Aubrey was a survivor and most

importantly a fighter, she never gave up and has yet to give up (McNEIL).

On a Saturday night during the months that the disease was going around, Jennifer

Johnson, 24 years old, was working in London as a waitress when she felt a sudden fever come

on in addition to body aches, dizziness and loss of appetite. On her way home she stopped at the

store to buy a thermometer but to her luck they were all sold out due to the 100,000 cases of

swine flu. She could hardly sleep because of the anxiety of the possibility she had swine flu. The

next day she stayed home from work to manage her sickness and anytime her Advil would wear

off her fever would spike. She called and made a doctor’s appointment immediately. After being

registered into the system and a quick consultation Johnsons’ doctor concluded that she did in

fact have H1N1. Also because she had asthma she was a high risk candidate for the swine flu

and even for developing pneumonia. The doctor prescribed her Tamiflu and within hours of

taking the first recommended dose she felt even worse. But sticking to it by the following Friday

she was better than ever back off to work (Bloor).

During this major swine flu epidemic, doctors were racking their minds and educational

abilities to find medications that would work quickly and effectively with hardly any side

effects. The main issue was that the flu shot most everyone was given at the beginning of the

season was not effective for the particular viral strain (Bronze). The two medications that were

effective in fighting off the swine flu were oseltamivir and zanamivir, antiviral medications.

Doctors were also prescribing basic tasks such as staying hydrated, taking cough suppressants

and taking analgesics (Bronze). In 2009 the medication “oseltamivir-resistance strains were

observed in a small number of patients” (Bronze) and tested out to see where the resistance was

coming from. People who resisted this medication were “severely immunocompromised patients

with prior exposure to oseltamivir” (Bronze). During the research of these medications never

once were they tested on pregnant women because oseltamivir and zanamivir are category C

drugs (Bronze). Category C means that taking the medication could poorly affect the mothers’

baby and/or the mother. Since pregnant women weren’t able to be given those medications they

were given other antivirals which then saved 272 pregnant women who were admitted into the

ICU and survived (Bronze). Since the epidemic in 2009 the H1N1 flu strain vaccine has been

worked into everyone’s flu season shots.

Many of the antivirals that were tested out worked with no issue, the people who didn’t

get better or progressively got worse was because their immune systems either had created a

resistance to the medications or they were already very ill and there was nothing that could turn

that around (Influenza Antiviral Drug Resistance). Having a resistance to any medication means

that in the body there is a replicated genetic makeup of the flu virus and it could change what the

virus is resistant too (Influenza Antiviral Drug Resistance). To detect this doctors will do lab

tests including a functional assay, neuraminidase assay and molecular techniques to find this

underlying issue (Influenza Antiviral Drug Resistance). Once it is detected then doctors will

begin to try to rework the medication they initially prescribed.

Camus’ beliefs do relate to the topic because he believed in absurdity, that everyone has a

choice to make and the best choice is to not choose at all (Man Provides Life's Meaning). All of

the people who were infected, who passed away or who had people taken from them didn’t

choose this at all. Even if they had chosen nothing could have stopped the spread of infection

throughout everyone. He believed that when you die you can choose if you die in panic or in

acceptance of what’s to come (Man Provides Life's Meaning). These people fought for their lives

till the very last bit of time but when it was time to go, they knew there was nothing more that

could be done there for the fighting was over. Lastly he believed that the soul of a human had the

ability to realize that although they are physically harmed by a decision, that your soul can still

be at peace with whatever comes (Man Provides Life's Meaning). Victims of the H1N1 flu virus

were physically harmed. They were drained of all energy and all the life was being sucked out of

them all because a harmful virus made it into their system. It was bound to happen with everyone

who was getting infected. This was an epidemic a worldwide deal and people had to be at peace

knowing it wasn’t intentional that they got sick, it was just bad luck.

If this had happened to Camus, he would accept it and think this was just how it was

supposed to be. He would not choose a path to go down because he would know in this situation

there is not much choosing. He would not panic but instead he would be in acceptance with what

was going on and he would be at peace with his mind and soul knowing that this was just how it

was supposed to be. The absurdity in it all is why do things have to grow that quickly and by that

many people, doctors should have caught it sooner or ended it at once. Camus wouldn’t like

what was going on but he would be accepting.

From the statistical numbers and the record deaths and infections Camus would look at

that and just shake his head. The numbers are so large, as they need to be to be considered an

epidemic, but why did this have to happen. He would say although it was bad it could have been

worse so in return we need to just appreciate that it didn’t grow any larger. Camus would look at

the date, 2009, and would understand that that was a time of great medicine and great doctors but

wouldn’t understand why the same great doctor’s couldn’t figure out a solution to whatever was

going on. Camus would end it with just saying that although it was bad, we have to be at peace

with what came and move on from it.

The 2009 H1N1 swine flu epidemic is important because it taught doctors, researchers

and hospitals new information they may never have come across if this didn’t occur and it also

taught them that even the smallest cough or fever could turn into something so large. The United

States of America along with the rest of the world, experienced a disease that no one knew

anything about and even worse, didn’t know how to treat it. Swine flu, also known as H1N1, is a

respiratory disease that spread in 2009 causing a mass infection and killing greater than 15,000

people (Rogers). This disease spread a very great distance, killing many people and infecting

tons.

Citations

"An American's H1N1 Swine Flu Experience in London: One Patient's Story by

MedicineNet.com." MedicineNet. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Bronze, Michael S. "H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) Medication." H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu)

Medication: Antiviral Agent, Vaccines. Russell W. Steele, 23 Nov. 2016. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Familydoctor.org Editorial. "H1N1 Influenza." Familydoctor.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Influenza Antiviral Drug Resistance." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease

Control and Prevention, 26 Jan. 2017. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Lisa Schnirring | News Editor | CIDRAP News| Feb 09, 2016, Source Agency: Rhode Island

Department of Health, Rhode Island, Source Agency: Colorado Department of Public

Health and Environment, Colorado, Source Agency: Connecticut Department of Public

Health, Connecticut, Source Agency: Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota,

Source Agency: Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas, Source Agency: Polk County

Public Health, Minnesota, Source Agency: South Dakota Department of Health, South

Dakota, and Source Agency: Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Wisconsin. "H1N1

2009 Pandemic Influenza." CIDRAP. N.p., 08 Feb. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Man Provides Life's Meaning." Camus on The Meaning of Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2017.

Mcneil, Donald G. "Flu Story: A Pregnant Woman’s Ordeal." The New York Times. The New

York Times, 19 Oct. 2009. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

Rogers, Kara. "Influenza Pandemic (H1N1) of 2009." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia

Britannica, Inc., 29 June 2012. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Swine Influenza in Humans." WHO. World Health Organization, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.

"Timeline: The Secret History of Swine Flu." New Scientist. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 201