Task 2 C228 V2
Breanna Bras
Western Governors University
An example of a communicable disease outbreak that crossed international borders is the H1N1 influenza virus, also known as “swine flu”. The H1N1 flu outbreak was originally discovered in April 2009. The first known occurrence originated in Mexico and then was detected in the United States soon after. By May 2009, the H1N1 flu virus was confirmed to have spread to a total of 39 countries including: Spain, United Kingdom, Panama, Colombia, Brazil, Italy, China, France, Korea, New Zealand, Japan, Ireland, Germany, Argentina, El Salvador, Belgium, Denmark, Australia, Peru, Norway, India, Austria, Thailand Cuba, Sweden, Portugal, Ecuador, Finland, Guatemala, Israel, Malaysia, Netherlands, Turkey and Poland ("Latest news on swine flu", 2009).
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It is highly contagious and can be transferred person to person via close contact such as touching something that is contaminated and proceeding to touch one’s eyes, nose or mouth. It can also be transmitted by respiratory secretions or droplet exposure ("Interim Guidance", 2010).
People who are at high risk of getting infected by the H1N1 influenza virus include children under five years old, people 65 and older, people who have chronic illnesses, pregnant women and people who have compromised immune systems (Krause & Poceta, 2017). The symptoms of the H1N1 virus are very similar to symptoms of regular influenza and include nausea and vomiting, fever, diarrhea, coughing, sore throat and