Winter is approaching in the northern hemisphere. The short days and cold weather are the ideal conditions for flu viruses. South of the Equator, the winter is over, so how have the people there fared during the flu season?

Virologists have been keeping a close eye on developments in the southern hemisphere. So what do they now know on the basis of experiences in that region? It’s still busy in the various care departments, particularly with young children, and clearly the epidemic is not over although the winter has ended.

Mexican flu dominant
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina maintain the best sick registers, and are therefore important for the statistics. During a normal winter flu season, half a million people worldwide die, of whom 95 percent live in the developing countries.

The past winter seems to have passed off relatively peacefully in the southern hemisphere. It’s true that there was talk of an epidemic, but in fact less people died from flu than in a normal winter. Furthermore, Mexican (H1N1) flu has completely shut out the other existing flu viruses.

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Intensive care
Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Chile and Argentina have unofficially reported to each other that flu patients needed more intensive care than normal. Especially children, and adults over 65 years of age, ended up in hospital. In Australia, Africa and Latin America the authorities are taking into consideration that the virus might also create victims in the summer season.

Victims
According to figures from Canberra, almost 5000 people in Australia have been taken into hospital since the start of the outbreak. One on eight flu patients needed extra intensive care. Hospitals had to send patients away if their intensive care department was full. The number of people per week dying from the H1N1 virus is still rising.

South Africa accounts for the highest number of registered flu cases in Africa. Here too, it was children and young people who were more often and more seriously sick.

Mexico, where the H1N1 pandemic began, accounts for the highest number of flu cases (50,000), followed by Brazil and Chile. In Brazil, 1,300 people have died so far, more than in any other Latin American country. What’s remarkable is that here most of the victims are older than 65 years. Argentina reports relatively few registered cases, yet after Brazil it accounts for the highest number of deaths.

Native populations
Australia and Latin America are paying special attention to the risk of vulnerable native populations. Generally speaking, they have no natural defences against new illnesses. Furthermore, these groups don’t find it easy to get to a health clinic. In Australia, the first fatality was a 26-year-old Aboriginal. At the height of the epidemic, the largest number of cases were registered in the Northern Territory, where most of the Aboriginals live.

The flu is also creating victims amongst the Indian tribes in Latin America. In the Peruvian Amazon, members of the Matsigenke tribe tested positive for the H1N1 virus, and in Venezuela the same applies to the Yanomami. Seven members of the tribe are reported to have died already.

Vaccination
The flu vaccine is becoming available just as spring is arriving in the southern hemisphere. Nevertheless, Australia has decided to vaccinate all its inhabitants.

In Latin America, things aren’t proceeding so quickly. Argentina, Chile and Brazil  plan to begin vaccinations around March 2010.

Brazil is following its own course. The Butantan Institute in the state of São Paolo is working on its own vaccine against the H1N1 virus. Production is planned to start in the middle of next year, and must deliver 18 million doses. President Lula hopes that in this way Brazil will be less dependent on other countries.

South Africa is also investigating the possibility of developing its own vaccine. For the next flu season, the Ministry of Public Health is pinning its hopes on a normal flu vaccine that has been modified to protect against the new virus.
 

External links:

• World Health Organisation: H1N1 in Africa
• Australian Government Department of Health: Pandemic (H1N1) update bulletins
• South African Department of Health: A(H1N1) disease control information
   

Photo: Children receiving their H1N1 vaccination. (c) ANP.

(RNW translation: as)