Flu misery in Panama

A(H1N1) influenza virus particle. Photo by the US Centers for Disease Control

You probably won't die, but you will feel awful if you get it

"Swine flu" is here
by Eric Jackson

As expected, the A(H1N1) influenza strain that appears to have mutated and jumped the barrier from swine to humans in Mexico, and then rapidly spread among humans to at least 39 other countries, has reached Panama. When this story was written 55 cases had been confirmed here, but surely there were many more.

Nobody has died of the disease, nor has anyone been hospitalized, in Panama. Despite dire early reports from Mexico --- which turned out to be exaggerated as to the ailment's severity --- this strain of influenza is not especially deadly. However, people die of the flu every year, with infants, the elderly and people already in frail health especially at risk.

There is no vaccine specific to this virus. However, there are unscrupulous Panamanian doctors whose private practices are exploiting mistaken public impressions and charging up to $150 per dose for immunizations that are only effective against older flu strains.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has called this flu outbreak a "pandemic" and has noted that this strain appears to be a bit more contagious than most, but does not recommend international travel restrictions.

Panamanian health authorities have warned people to stay away from gatherings, and in response many public events have been postponed and some sporting contests have been held in front of television cameras with no fans allowed in the stadium. However, because such a large percentage of our population gets to and from work on buses, the infection is bound to spread rapidly through the population. People who are diagnosed with the "swine flu" (a term the WHO doesn't like because the disease spreads from human to human rather than from pigs to people) are being told to retire to their bedrooms at home, drink lots of fluids, treat the symptoms and rest until the disease runs its course, usually about a week or less. The main points are that people who are sick with the flu should neither mingle with the public and thus risk spreading the disease, nor exert themselves and thus risk aggravating a miserable flu into a deadly case of pneumonia.

Many people who have to work in environments where the risk of exposure is great --- in transportation terminals, collecting city garbage and so on --- are wearing masks and in some cases rubber gloves to reduce their chances of catching the flu. The US government is helping Panama with this by supplying gloves and masks.

If the World Health Organization is advising against panicky over-reactions, it does warn that the A(H1N1) outbreak is a serious matter:

Even a pandemic virus that initially causes mild symptoms in otherwise healthy people can be disruptive, especially under the conditions of today’s highly mobile and closely interdependent societies. Moreover, the same virus that causes mild illness in one country can result in much higher morbidity and mortality in another. In addition, the inherent virulence of the virus can change over time as the pandemic goes through subsequent waves of national and international spread.

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