Over 100 countries affected by deadly Swine Flu till date

While over 100 countries, including Pakistan, have till date been affected by the pandemic Swine Flu, numerous global celebrities like Costa Rica’s President Oscar Arias Sanchez, famous Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor, former British Premier Tony Blair’s wife Cherie and the British Cabinet Minister for Children, Schools and Families Michael Gove etc have also caught this virus in recent years, a research conducted by the Jang Group/Geo Television network reveals.
According to the June 26, 2012 edition of a prestigious British newspaper “Daily Mail,” the Swine Flu pandemic of 2009 had killed an estimated 284,500 people, and may have led to the deaths of as many as 579,000 humans.
The “Daily Mail” had reported: “The majority of swine flu deaths - 51 percent - occurred in Africa and Southeast Asia, despite the fact that only 38 percent of the global population lives in the area. The pandemic killed twice as many victims in Africa as it did elsewhere. Perhaps surprisingly, 80 percent of swine flu deaths were of people under the age of 65.”
The countries hit by Swine Flu include:
Pakistan, India, United States, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Kuwait, Israel, Australia, New Zealand, Cambodia, Malaysia, Mexico, Canada, Vietnam, Philippines, Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Solomon Islands, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Azerbaijan, Cayman Islands, Brunei, Cook Islands, Macao, Iceland, Portugal, Turkey, Russia, Thailand, Ukraine, Morocco, Palestinian Territories, France, Spain, Norway, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Malta, Greece, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Luxemburg, Ireland, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Bulgaria, Austria, Barbados, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, the Bahamas, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, El Salvador, Samoa, Ecuador, Poland, Syria, Iran, Romania, Czech republic, South Africa, Belarus, Serbia, Bolivia, Finland, Slovakia, Paraguay, Algeria, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Iraq, Indonesia, Maldives, Egypt, South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Seychelles, Cape Verde, Libya, Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mauritius, Somalia, Sudan, Namibia, Zambia, Gabon and Rwanda etc.
As soon as Swine Flu fatalities were reported in the United States, Mexico and Canada during 2009, Washington DC had doled out a billion dollars in 2009 to the world’s three leading pharmaceutical firms in 2009 to fuel the rapid development of a vaccine that could guard against this infectious disease, also called the “Pig Influenza.”
Renowned Swiss company Novartis was given $289 million, the Paris-based Sanofi Aventis was dished out $191 million and a distinguished British multinational pharmaceutical and consumer healthcare company Messrs Glaxo SmithKline was extended a federal support of $181 million to fund the clinical tests on a new vaccine.
On September 15, 2009, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved the new Swine Flu vaccine for use in the country. A single dose of this vaccine was good at creating enough antibodies to protect against the virus.
(Reference: The US National Institute of Health)
Noted as a new disease of pigs in 1918, the 1976 United States Swine Flu had led to the vaccination of some 48 million Americans, or just over 22 per cent of the country’s population at that time. The 1976 outbreak came to limelight with the death of a United States army recruit. Even the then US President Gerald Ford (1913-2006) had received a Swine Flu vaccination. For public inspiration, a photo showing the President receiving the injection was carried by all major US media outlets.
Over 4,000 cases of severe vaccination damages, totaling $3.5 billion, were later filed till 1979. These included cases for 25 deaths.
(Reference: The April 27, 2009 edition of the Los Angeles Times)
The April 27, 2009 edition of the “Los Angeles Times” had stated: “The panic in 1976 was partly because of the belief — now known to be erroneous — that the 1918-19 flu pandemic, which killed half a million Americans and as many as 50 million worldwide, was caused by a virus with swine components. Recent research suggests instead that it was Avian Flu, but that seems unlikely to assuage the current anxiety.”
In August 2010, the World Health Organization had officially declared the Swine Flu a pandemic.
While symptoms of human Swine Flu include chills, fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, weakness and discomfort etc, this influenza infection produces fever, lethargy, regular sneezing, coughing and difficulty in breathing and decreased appetite in pigs.
The US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the use of “Tamiflu” for the treatment and/prevention of infection with Swine Influenza viruses.
(Reference: The World Health Organization)
In India, Swine Flu virus has so far claimed 1,075 lives. The number of those affected by Swine Flu had stood at 19,972 as on February 28, 2015.
(Reference: NDTV and Indian Health Ministry)
Mukesh Jain a Congress leader from Indore’s Ratlam district has already died from this virus.
The BBC writes: “The current outbreak, which began in December last year, is India’s deadliest since 2010. Nearly 4,000 people have been killed in separate outbreaks of the H1N1 virus since 2009. In Ahmedabad, officials have said weddings and funerals may take place but participants must wear protective masks.”
In 2014, throughout India, some 937 cases were reported in total, including 218 deaths.