# 4098
Helen Branswell, medical correspondent for the Canadian Press, takes us on a tour of public health officials and scientists to ask whether the now declining H1N1 virus will be back later in this flu season as a 3rd wave.
As with any Branswell article, it is worth your time to follow the link to read it in its entirety.
Some health officials predict a third wave of H1N1
November 29, 2009
Helen Branswell
TORONTO — The current wave of H1N1 activity may have peaked in all provinces and territories, the Public Health Agency of Canada says in its latest assessment on the state of the pandemic.
But if transmission of the virus is indeed on the downward slope, does that mean the end is in sight for Canada? Or is a third wave of illness sometime this winter in the cards?
With the notoriously unpredictable influenza, it’s pretty much anyone’s guess.
“I think if you ask a group of so-called influenza experts, you’re going to get different views,” says Dr. Frederick Hayden, an influenza expert who splits his time between at the University of Virginia and Britain’s Wellcome Trust, a charity that funds biomedical research.
Hayden is betting on “a bump” of activity after Christmas, because so many people remain susceptible to the virus. Though whether that will be a full wave or just an upswing in cases, he’s not sure.
Regardless of where the experts come down on the question of a third wave, they say one thing is a safe bet. Whether it’s this winter or next, the H1N1 flu will be back.
