Global Health Progress

Global Health bloggers continue to monitor news of the H1N1 (popularly referred to as “swine flu”) pandemic, expected to affect millions in late 2009.  This week, bloggers were particularly focused on the trajectory of the pandemic and the effects it may have on the world at large.

Pregnant Women:  H1N1 Vulnerability
A recent article from The Lancet warned that pregnant women might be at increased risk for complications from H1N1 infection.  Several bloggers mentioned issues of H1N1 and pregnancy this week:

• Michael Coston of Avian Flu Diary posted an excerpt from The Lancet report, the release of which he considered well-timed, as it was published during the July 29th Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) meeting to discuss vaccines and vaccine prioritization.
• The American Journal of Nursing, on their Off the Charts blog, shared with their readers the information released by the CDC, which recommended that clinicians not hesitate to give antivirals to pregnant women with flu-like symptoms.
• The Healthy BabyBlog advocated that pregnant women be top priority for inoculation when a vaccine becomes available.  In the mean time, the blog gave mothers and others tips on what to do if they become sick with H1N1.

Other H1N1 Issues
In H5N1, Crawford Kilian wrote that H1N1 has illustrated a hazard of increased mobility – the ability to spread viruses globally.

Alanna Shaikh, in Change.org’s Global Health, wrote that compared to the rest of the world, megacities – with dense populations, dirty conditions, and environmental factors triggering H1N1 risk factors like asthma – will be most affected by the virus.

Aktuell Influensa A/H1N1 warned its readers that the colder temperatures of autumn and winter would bring a wave of the virus through Europe.

Jon Cohen interviewed Laurie Garrett, senior fellow for global health at the Council for Foreign Relations, in Science Magazine’s Science Insider blog.  Garrett discusses the Obama administration’s national response to H1N1 as well as what it may take to prepare for an H1N1 pandemic.