Swine flu H1N1 on the decline

The World Health Organization (WHO) sees a fading of swine flu in the northern hemisphere

As the World Health Organization (WHO) reports, the causative agent of the so-called swine flu H1N1 is on the decline in the northern hemisphere. Initially classified as very dangerous, the disease peaked in October 2009. Since the end of October 2009, the number of new cases in Europe has fallen steadily. In the countries where the H1N1 virus was most prevalent, falling rates of new swine flu infections have also been observed. These include countries such as Poland, Austria, Estonia, Hungary and Moldova. Also in the Federal Republic of Germany the number of new illnesses sinks by the swine flu.

According to the Robert Koch Institute, only 475 infections were reported in the second calendar week of 2010. In the first week of 2010 there were still 1088, in the last week of December 2009, even 1233 cases. On the basis of these figures can be clearly demonstrated that the swine flu virus could be contained.

In total, 217,294 infection cases with the swine flu virus and 189 deaths have been reported since April 2009. The number of deaths can be considered low compared to "normal" flu. By comparison, an average of up to 20,000 people per year die of "normal" annual flu in Germany every year.

In most cases, the course of the disease was quite harmless. In Germany, just 5 percent of the population have been vaccinated against the swine flu. With an estimated number of 82 million inhabitants, this is around 4 million vaccinations. (sb, 24.01.2010)

Further information on swine flu

Facts about the swine flu
Conflicting numbers in the swine flu