A/H1N1 flu: A virulent killer

Since the A/H1-N1 flu virus was first discovered in Mexico last year, it has spread all over the world at great speed. Let's have a quick look at the impact the virus has had around the globe.

The A/H1-N1 flu virus was first discovered in Mexico last April and soon spread to the neighboring United States. It only took the virus six weeks to become a global infection. As an increasing number of people became infected, the World Health Organization declared the first influenza pandemic in more than 40 years last June. Although sharing some similar symptoms to seasonal flu, the A/H1N1 flu virus is more virulent.

Statistics show 90 percent of victims have been children and young adults, while the toll of seasonal flu largely affects the frail elderly. According to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the A/H1-N1 flu virus has killed up to 17,000 people in the US alone, and put as many as 370-thousand seriously ill into hospital.

In China, as of last December, more than 115-thousand cases had been reported, with 560 deaths. The WHO says it will take at least a year after the pandemic ends to establish the true death toll worldwide. The UN agency also warns of the virus' possible mutation, recommending people not to let down their guard too soon.