2009 swine flu pandemic referred to as the swine flu involved the H1N1 influenza virus

The 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic and H1N1 Influenza Virus

The H1N1 influenza virus was responsible for the 2009 swine flu pandemic. The term “swine flu” was coined since the virus was discovered to be a novel variant of the 1918 H1N1 influenza virus. This new strain was created by combining the triple reassortment of avian, human, and swine flu viruses, and the Eurasian pig flu virus. That resulted in pneumonia and ARDS (Acute respiratory distress syndrome). Individuals experienced respiratory issues within 3-6 days of the onset of symptoms. Although the pandemic was dubbed “swine flu,” the virus was spread through respiratory droplets and could only be transferred from person to person, not from pork products. Severe symptoms were treated with antiviral such as oseltamivir and zanamivir.

The Emergence of H1N1 Pandemic in Mexico

H1N1 pandemic was first recognized in Mexico, in the state of Veracruz in April 2009. It was however also noted that the virus had been experienced some months before April. The first case was discovered after a laboratory testing for influenza which was a part of a clinical study. It was also found that the influenza virus was resistant to antiviral drugs. Immediately, the CDC responded with investigations. Upon the official declaration of the epidemic, the nation reacted by closing the Mexico City’s private and public facilities as a strategy to contain the spread of the virus. The strategy was however late since the virus continued to spread and medical services worldwide declared that the numbers of infected people were overwhelming to the medical facilities. The first global health organization to react was the World Health Organization (WHO), towards the end of April, WHO a public health emergency and called international concern. Two months later, the U.S CDC and WHO conjointly declared a pandemic thus stopping to count the infection cases.

Mitigation Strategies and Vaccination Campaign

In May, the World Health Organization announced that the containment was not effective and advised Mexico and U.S, the countries that had been most affected, as well as the entire world to refocus on mitigating the effects of the H1N1 virus (Horney et al., 2010). Therefore, unlike the obvious way of containment used with another pandemic such as closing borders and restricting travels, WHO advised on quarantine measures for visitors from flu-affected areas. It was however noted that screening for H1N1symptones at the airports was ineffective and thus there was a need to develop mitigation strategies. It was also pointed out that the virus disproportionately affected young people between the age of 1-24 years of age. Thus, severely affected areas in Mexico used school closures as a strategy to prevent more infections (Horney et al., 2010).

In U.S, universities, pediatrics, and the health department worked together to prepare for contingencies. They stockpiled medical supplies and launched education campaigns. The measure was appropriate and utilized accordingly since, by October, more than 600 schools were on temporal closure in 19 states (Horney et al., 2010). In workplaces, employers were provided an update guidance developed by the Department of Homeland Security, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Health and Human Services. The guidance was supposed to be used to develop contingency plans at the workplace for used in case of a high risk of influenza-related complications on the workers and their families. Although the spread of the flu was not related to consuming pork products, several countries in the international realm reacted by banning the importation of products of animal husbandry from all Americas. Others such as Egypt ordered that all pig be slaughtered within the month. In the October of 2009, an H1N1 vaccination campaign was launched.

Social Attitudes and Barriers to Healthcare Services

Social attitudes, age, class, and gender, are some of the factors that had a great influence on the response to the H1N1 pandemics. Notably, the general population reacted differently to the vaccination campaign. Since the influenza was termed to resist the antiviral and so was it to the 2009-2010 vaccine, Pediatrics noted that the vaccine was not fully capable of protecting those vaccinated from contracting the infection. Although a study revealed that over 80% of the Americans were aware of the vaccine, only 64% were willing to get vaccinated (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2010). Middle-aged and upper-class population cited that they were not at the risk of the infection and thus, were unwilling to take the pandemic or the seasonal vaccine. Also, social attitudes against the vaccine for fear of the side effects; there was a belief that the H1N1 pandemic caused a mild illness.

Various barriers to healthcare services, especially for the H1N1 vaccine were identified and categorized depending on whether they were due to the people’s perceptions and behaviors or typical. Some of the typical barriers were socioeconomic disparities, undocumented residency, and language barriers. Socioeconomic disparities among racial and ethnic groups influence the chances of getting uninsured (McCauley, Minsky and Viswanath, 2013). In 2009 for example, about 23% of Hispanics and Black American were living below the poverty level, making it impossible for them to access the recommended treatments (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2010). Language barriers, experienced by immigrants into America are another cause of hindrance to accessing healthcare services. Disoriented populations experiencing language barriers have difficulties accessing health care education messages such as those issued during the H1N1 vaccination campaign. Also, immigrants often have undocumented residencies for fear that they will be required to provide legal proof of their residency. In such cases, even with an outbreak of a pandemic, they don’t seek medical services. Behavioral barriers are as a result of the ignorance to seek health care services unless in emergency situations (McCauley, Minsky and Viswanath, 2013).

Role of International Healthcare Organizations and Nursing Profession

The international healthcare organizations have the responsibility to strengthen global disease detection and to report on possible impact serious of infectious outbreaks. Also, they have a duty to work with national health bodies to identify and initiate measures to counter local and global public health hazards. These organizations work under the International Health Regulations agreement. It provides the framework usable by international health organization to detect, report, and manages global public health risks. In the 2009 flu pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) was the first international organization to respond. It was involved in developing mitigating strategies to prevent further spread of the flu. Working with the U.S CDC, WHO declared the flu a pandemic and thus called the help of other international organizations.

The organizations also have a role in creating world awareness concerning the outbreak of a public health hazard. In this case, however, WHO was criticized for raising panic about the H1N1. The Council of Europe, chaired by Wodrag claimed that world organizations put pressures on the WHO to make the declaration so that they would sell vaccines. In response, the WHO stated that as an international organization, it makes independent advice concerning health that is free from interference by outside parties (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2010). Therefore, international organizations have a role to work independently and must be guided by the sole interest of public health. The organizations are perceived to be the moral voice for the world health. They are therefore responsible for initiating preventative programs and producing the budgets to finance the initiatives. Also, they are responsible for assessing local projects by national and state health organizations to determine the need to offer financial help to such countries. Lastly, the international health organizations have an obligation to provide advice concerning health legislation and regulations that are deemed to advance public health.

The nursing profession is the most sought when it comes to promoting public health. Nurses are the caregivers and thus are required throughout a patient’s life until the patient is well. During a health pandemic, nurse services are required in infection containment and in taking care of diagnosed patients. A global health crisis results in the involvement of nurses from abroad. Their responsibilities range from giving vaccines to attending to patients under treatment. In both cases, nurses are more exposed than other people, and they face the risk of contracting the diseases. In the outbreak of the H1N1, professional nurses were mainly involved in providing health education (Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention, 2010). Nursing schools were involved in the detection of the virus, and as such, they participated in the development of the initial prevention practices. When working outside the area of one’s license, nurses have the responsibility to see the patients from a holistic perspective. This entails understanding and accommodating the cultural and social aspects of the communities they are working for. Nurses are charged with the responsibility to mobilize mass vaccinations during an outbreak, and this requires that they establish good relationships with the communities.

References

Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. (2010). The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights, April 2009-April 2010. CDC. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm.

Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention. (2010). The 2009 H1N1 and Seasonal Influenza and Hispanic Communities: Questions and Answers. CDC. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/qa_hispanic.htm

Horney A., Moore Z., Davis M. and MacDonald P. (2010). Intent to Receive Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine, Compliance with Social Distancing and Sources of Information in NC, 2009. PLOS Research article. Retrieved from http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0011226

McCauley M., Minsky S. and Viswanath K. (2013). The H1N1 pandemic: media frames, stigmatization, and coping. BMC Public Health, BioMed Central. Retrieved from; http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1116