# 3240
Arriving as it did towards the end of the Northern hemisphere’s flu season, the newly emerging Swine Flu virus has been easier to spot than if it had arrived say, in December of last year.
The incidence of seasonal flu north of the equator was declining by late April, and so in absolute terms, the number of people with influenza-like-illness was less than during the peak of the season.
With the change in the seasons, the expectation is that the number of flu cases will decrease in the northern hemisphere over the next couple of months, and increase south of the equator as their normal flu season ramps up.
Unlike our recent experience, countries south of the equator will have both their usual seasonal virus mix and this new virus to deal with.
How this affects the spread, and possible mutation, of the H1N1 virus (or any of the other flu viruses in circulation) is something scientists will be watching closely.
May 22, 2009
Asia-Pacific to enter flu season
MANILA - THE change of seasons in the Asia-Pacific region could make it easier for swine flu to spread, World Health Organisation (WHO) officials warned on Friday.
'The southern hemisphere is about to enter its influenza season,' officials at the WHO Western Pacific office said, warning that the 'factors that contribute toward the spread of (ordinary seasonal) influenza will also enable the spread of A(H1N1)'. The greater prevalence of ordinary flu will also make it harder to detect swine flu, said the officials in a briefing at the WHO regional office in the Philippines.
WHO infectious diseases expert Julie Hall warned that vaccines against seasonal influenza did not appear to protect people from A(H1N1).
Some Asian countries are better equipped to deal with an outbreak of swine flu, thanks to precautions taken during Sars and bird flu alerts over the last few years, Dr Hall said.
