The age of new swine flu patients is increasing

The World Health Organization reports that the trend of growth in infection with the new influenza virus continues to show an increase in the number of infections and the number of deaths, which are about half a percent. The risk factors: heart disease, respiratory tract, diabetes and pregnant women * the vaccination in September, until then not much can be done

Yesterday, Sunday, 35-year-old Shimon Ezran, a resident of the city, died at the Yoseftal Hospital in Eilat. In doing so, Ezran became the first victim of swine flu among the approximately 800 people in Israel whose tests confirmed that they were infected with the epidemic.

The number of people infected with the H1N1 flu (swine flu) and with it the number of people who die from the disease continues to increase consistently in many countries, even in countries that have already been affected by the disease for some time. Which leads to the conclusion that the epidemic does not stop. This is reported by the World Health Organization (WHO), which is based in Geneva. From data published in recent days, it appears that the number of deaths from the disease is also increasing and stands at about 800 cases all over the world out of about 170 thousand infected.

World Health Organization He gave a number of new trends about the disease. One of them is that the average age of those infected is increasing. In most countries, most of those infected with swine flu are young people, with a median age of 12-17 years (based on information from Canada, Chile, Japan, Great Britain and the USA). Some reports lead the researchers to hypothesize that the people requiring hospitalization as a result of the swine flu infection, as well as chronic patients may also be older.

As the epidemic spreads within communities, the average age of new cases tends to increase. This may be reflected in the situation in many countries where the first cases appeared in schools, but the later cases appeared within the community. Some of the patterns of the epidemic are different from those of seasonal flu, where the tendency to die as a result of the complications of the disease increases with age and especially in those 65 and older. However, the full picture of the epidemiology of the epidemic is still not completely clear because in many countries both the swine flu virus and the seasonal flu virus are being distributed at the same time, and the epidemic is still in the early stages of development.

Although the risk factors for complications among swine flu patients are not fully known, the important risk factors are the existence in the background of heart disease, respiratory tract, diabetes and cancer. Shortness of breath (asthma) and other types of respiratory diseases have been frequently reported as important factors among the critically ill in several countries.
Recent reports indicate that obesity can also be a risk factor that aggravates the disease. Similarly, there is increasing evidence that pregnant women are also at risk. However, the importance of cultural, economic and social contributions to worsening the condition of the patients is not clear.

Immunization status

Development of new vaccines continues to yield results. Several clinical trials will soon begin with the newly developed vaccines. These experiments will allow a better assessment of the number of doses required for a person to be vaccinated, as well as the amount of active substance required for each vaccine dose. The manufacturers are expected to come out with the new vaccines around September. Until then, it will probably be difficult to find an answer to the disease.

We continue to collect information

The briefing published on the organization's website reads: "Our understanding of the way the disease continues to evolve when new countries enter the list of countries where people have been infected with the disease, and when infection at the community level has already spread in several countries, and as many countries share information. Many countries with large community infections have moved from random testing of patients to more general screening and monitoring and reporting of trends. The change was made according to the recommendations of the World Health Organization due to the fact that the epidemic is in full swing. Monitoring trends in disease activity can be done better by tracking trends in infection than by trying to test all sick people, which could stretch the resources of those countries. It remains to be determined which groups of people are at risk of becoming severely ill in order to do the most to protect them.
In addition to the survey data, the World Health Organization relies on the results of special research and clinical trials as well as data provided by countries directly on the virological and epidemiological aspects of the epidemic, with the aim of gaining a global perspective of the tense situation.

http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_situation_20090724/en/index.html