RP must prepare for stronger A(H1N1) flu -- Gordon

Pointing to the 1918 Flu pandemic, Senator Richard Gordon (Ind.) urged the national government to prepare tighter defenses against a possible deadlier wave of A(H1N1) flu infections.

"What our experience with the A(H1N1) tells us so far is that the country is unprepared for a more pernicious strain of the virus. The 1918 Flu pandemic was caused by a strain of A(H1N1), the first wave was mild affecting those with weakened immune systems; the second wave resulted from a stronger A(H1N1) virus which infected people in full health and lead to more deaths," said Gordon.

The 1918 Flu pandemic lasted from March 1918 to June 1920, spreading even to the Arctic and remote Pacific islands. An estimated 50 to 100 million people were killed worldwide, or the approximate equivalent of one third of the population of Europe.

During the first wave in March 1918, the epidemic resembled typical flu epidemics which affected the sick and elderly, while younger, healthier people recovered easily. But in August, when the second wave began in France, Sierra Leone and the United States, the virus had mutated to a much more deadly form.

Gordon pointed out that one factor that contributed to the spread of the deadlier form of the A(H1N1) virus in 1918 was that it occurred among soldiers fighting in World War I. Soldiers infected with the milder strain were kept at the battle fields, but those with the stronger and deadlier strain were sent home on crowded trains and sent to crowded hospitals.

"You don't have to imagine the possibility of an OFW or Balikbayan coming home to the Philippines with a deadlier strain of the virus. The ideal scenario would be to detect possible A(H1N1) carriers before they come home, as in the cases of two Bangko Sentral employees," said Gordon.

"We should be on the lookout for Murphy's Law, as in the cases of so many who were infected with A(H1N1) and were able to go to work or school - such as what happened with the congress employee who contracted the virus but died due to heart failure. The risks of an exponential spread A(H1N1) are great, especially in congested communities as well as cramped public transport systems," added Gordon.