2009 Flu Pandemic

Global events may result to either positive or negative effects. The natural calamities lead to adverse effects. The 2009 flu pandemic popularly known as the swine flu was one global event that was experienced between early 2009 and late 2010. The first country where this outbreak was recognized was Mexico before being recognized in United States (U. S) and thereafter spreading to other countries in Europe, North and South America. The physicians would then collect their specimens and sent to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) Laboratory in Texas for testing and diagnosis purposes (Nerlich & Koteyko,2012). Secondly, the community health workers were highly involved in responding to the treatment and prevention of the influenza. The health workers moved from door to door within the community to give people newsletters which contained information on how people could prevent themselves from the flu and how those who got infected could receive fast treatment.

The health staff also advised people not to visit emergency rooms or clinics where the influenza patients were admitted unless one was seriously ill. This is because such visits would increase one’s chances of contacting the flu. The response also impacted the whole outbreak by minimizing the number of possible deaths through ensuring fast treatment of those diagnosed with the influenza. Social attitudes, issues of race, class and gender may impact the response to a global event. Social attitude refers to a pattern of behavior to the society towards something. If the society has a positive attitude towards a certain global event, they will work hand in hand with the authorities to ensure that the affected recover from the consequences of the epidemic which leads to the success of the response measures.

A positive social attitude ensures effective communications about the epidemic and how it can be avoided. The immune response to disease varies from males to females. This is not exceptional for influenza virus. Females are more susceptible to influenza as compared to males. There is likely to be more fatality cases among the females as compared to the males International and altruistic organization play important roles in providing health services during a global event. Some of these services including providing medical facilities, health advices and health practitioners to help in handling the epidemic. There were several barriers that were experienced in the 2009 influenza epidemic. For instance, some people were resistant to take the antivirus vaccines. This barrier was solved by proper counselling and sensitization of individuals on the importance of the vaccines.

Secondly, some low-income earners could not afford the treatment of the illness. To solve this challenge, the government put in place measures to ensure the treatment of the uninsured people. , Dong, X. S. , & Mignot, E. Decreased incidence of childhood narcolepsy 2 years after the 2009 H1N1 winter flu pandemic.  Ann Neurol, 73(4), 560. S. Comparative community burden and severity of seasonal and pandemic influenza: results of the Flu Watch cohort study.  The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2(6), 445-454. ) Kim, S. , & Liu, B. , Hublin, C. , Linna, M. , Olsén, P. & Rusanen, H. Increased incidence and clinical picture of childhood narcolepsy following the 2009 H1N1 pandemic vaccination campaign in Finland. J. Global mortality estimates for the 2009 Influenza Pandemic from the GLaMOR project: a modeling study.  PLoS medicine, 10(11), e1001558.