# 3346
The idea that a pandemic, even a mild or moderate one, could wreck havoc on the already marginal health care delivery systems of poorer nations is hardly new.
We’ve discussed it here many times before, including recently in A Tale of Two Pandemics.
While most people, even in developing nations, will survive infection – it is highly likely that many people who could have been salvaged with western medical care will be lost due to a lack of antivirals, antibiotics, and other lifesaving measures in poorer nations.
Also, since this virus (so far) seems to have a predilection for younger victims (children and young adults), countries that are demographically `younger’, such as is common in the developing world, are likely to see a greater number of infections, and a greater impact from the H1N1 virus.
As you can see from this map, the areas that have seen the greatest initial spread of the H5N1 virus (except for Mexico) have almost all been countries with an older median population (US, Canada, Europe, Japan, Australia).
The impact of H1N1 in countries where the median age is under 20 – primarily those in Africa and the Middle East – has yet to be measured.
Swine flu could cripple poor countries' health services: UN
Mon Jun 15, 3:16 pm ET
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – World Health Organization (WHO) chief Margaret Chan warned Monday that the current swine flu pandemic could cripple fragile health services in poor countries.
"Developing countries have the greatest vulnerability and the least resilience. They will be hit the hardest and take the longest to recover," she told a UN forum on global health.
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"The pressures of a pandemic, on top of the rise in chronic diseases, could alone cripple fragile health services" in the developing world, Chan said.
While noting that the world's preparedness for the pandemic was unprecedented, she stressed that "the level of preparedness, and the capacity to cope, are strongly biased toward wealthy countries."
"In terms of measures to mitigate the health impact, many poor countries are virtually empty-handed," the WHO director general said. "Even the use of non-pharmaceutical measures has limited relevance to poor countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa."
