It says" April 15
First human infection with new influenza A H1N1 virus detected in California."
But according to virologyj.biomedcentral.com
"A novel H1N1 influenza virus, Swine-Origin Influenza Virus (S-OIV), was first isolated in mid-April 2009 and, by the end of the month, the first complete genomic sequences were published, and the virus shown to be of a novel re-assortant."
"The swine-origin influenza A (H1N1) virus that appeared in 2009 and was first found in human beings in Mexico, is a reassortant with at least three parents."
Note: Only date published I could find on the CDC page for H1N1 said "Page last reviewed: May 8, 2019" - so I put that as the date published since that is when it seems to have been last edited/reviewed.
I don't seem to remember a run on toilet paper then.
Yet, "the 2009 flu pandemic or swine flu was an influenza pandemic that lasted from January 2009 to August 2010, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus (the first being the 1918–1920 Spanish flu pandemic), albeit a new strain."
Also: "First described in April 2009, the virus appeared to be a new strain of H1N1, which resulted from a previous triple reassortment of bird, swine, and human flu viruses further combined with a Eurasian pig flu virus, leading to the term "swine flu". It is estimated that 11–21% of the global population at the time — or around 700 million–1.4 billion people (out of a total of 6.8 billion) — contracted the illness – more than the number of people infected by the Spanish flu pandemic, with about 150,000–575,000 fatalities. A follow-up study done in September 2010 showed that the risk of serious illness resulting from the 2009 H1N1 flu was no higher than that of the yearly seasonal flu."
"However, by 2012, research showed that as many as 579,000 people could have been killed by the disease, as only those fatalities confirmed by laboratory testing were included in the original number, and meant that many without access to health facilities went uncounted. The majority of these deaths occurred in Africa and Southeast Asia. Experts, including the WHO, have agreed that an estimated 284,500 people were killed by the disease, much higher than the initial death toll."
Above is an interesting (and scary) set of charts comparing COVID-19 to the swine flu and others since 2000. Plots them all using their common “time zero” of when they were first observed. Covid-19, based on current numbers, and if it follows similar trajectory of H1N1, looks to be very bad.
And it ended up being a nothing burger
Great stuff, old timer. Thank you.
Can we figure out how long schools and businesses were closed in affected areas in 2009? It might give us a clue as to when things will return to normal this year, since most of us who do not get a serious case of the virus will be most affected by how long our lives are on hold.
Could you add this information that shows that it took President Obama until October 2009 to declare a national emergency?
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-declares-h1n1-flu-national-emergency
H1N1 had 18,500 confirmed deaths. Covid 19 currently has 11,400 confirmed deaths and accelerating. I would say Covid 19 is a lot worse. This isn’t your Grandfather’s influenza.
I am not saying the world is coming to an end or that everything should be closed and everybody sent home from work, smashing the economy. But yes, Covid 19 is a different worse animal than SARS or H1N1. This is a very bad one.