The World Health Organisation’s Director General, Dr Margaret Chan said that the H1N1 virus had “largely run its course” as it appears we are moving into the post pandemic phase. Many countries have scaled back their measures of vaccination and precautions as the effects of the virus and the number of cases continues to dwindle.
450 people died in the UK due to the swine flu virus which was minimal compared to the worst case scenario which predicted a possible 65,000 mortalities. The WHO will continue to monitor infection rates as they could rise again but it is largely believed that subsequent cases will remain at a seasonal flu level.
This particular pandemic did not reach the levels feared, but it was certainly a wake up call for organisations both in the public and private sector, to either dust off their pandemic plans or to put some in place. So the next time a flu pandemic really takes hold there should be no excuses for organisations to grind to a halt if a large chunk of their staff are struck down…
No pressure there then.
