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Future Health Care and Pharma Keynote Speaker
Governments teams are meeting in emergency sessions around the world to plan urgent responses to Swine Flu Virus (H1N1) after over 1,600 cases were reported in less than 48 hours in Mexico with others reported or suspected in the US, Canada and the UK. By early 27th April 2009 over 1600 cases had already been reported in Mexico with over 100 deaths – up from zero reported cases in just 48 hours. John McCaulay from the National Institute of Medical Research in the UK has said that the death toll could be as high as that from Spanish Flu in 1918-1919 which is thought to have killed 30 million people – out of a much smaller world population – less than half the number of people in the world today.
Even if the spread of Swine Flu Virus is as well contained as Sars was in 2003, it is clear that huge potential exists for business disruption around the world. Sars only infected 8600 people of which 862 died, but wiped billions of dollars from stock markets in South East Asia and caused major challenges for international travel, as well as social chaos in places like Hong Kong where people feared for weeks to gather in public places. This mutant version of Swine Flu has jumped from pigs to humans, combining it seems elements of bird flu, swine flu, and human flu. People who have had human flu in the past are unlikely to be protected, nor those recently vaccinated against human flu.
Dr Patrick Dixon, Chairman of Global Change Ltd said: "We are in a race against time to prevent a global pandemic. We must also remember that even if the spread of Swine Flu Virus is as well contained as Sars was in 2003, there could still be huge business disruption around the world. Sars only infected 8600 people in 2003 of which 862 died, but wiped billions of dollars from stock markets in South East Asia and caused major challenges for international travel, as well as social chaos in places like Hong Kong where people feared for weeks to gather in public places. Sars only infected 8,600 before being contained, but this Swine Flu Virus has probably already infected well over 1,600."
* Dr Patrick Dixon is a Futurist, physician, author of The Truth about AIDS, Futurewise and The Genetic Revolution. He consults to a wide range of multinationals on health-related trends. Press / media contact: MEDIA
Read more: Swine Flu – Global Pandemic Threat - loss of life and business disruption