There has recently been a lot of fear and panic surrounding a new strain of the influenza virus, referred to as the H1N1 Virus. In an attempt to give people more accurate information, the World Health Organization has released some facts about the virus and what the recommended response is. Ever since vice president Joe Biden commented that people should stop traveling in response to the H1N1 virus, a statement that the White House had to immediately correct, people have been afraid to travel because they don’t have enough information about the virus and about the behavior of this particular virus.
The World Health Organization makes very clear that they are, in fact, not recommending any kind of travel restrictions. They say that a restriction in travel would have little to no effect on the spread of the virus, but would have a large effect on the global community both socially and economically. The H1N1 virus has already been identified in most areas of the world and, therefore, the emphasis is not on the spread of the virus internationally. Instead, the emphasis is on identifying H1N1 cases early and getting the proper medical attention as soon as symptoms appear. This seems to be keeping the number of deaths very low in countries like the United States, where people tend to go to the doctor immediately when they become sick. The World Health Organization is only recommending restricting travel if you think that you are already sick, but not if you are healthy. Based on mathematical formulas that follow the spread of other outbreaks like SARS, the data shows that amount of travel is not an indication for furthering the spread of the virus.
