Health officials say WHO pandemic pronouncement does not alter Finland’s preparations for swine flu

Finland’s fifth swine flu case confirmed in Province of Finland Proper

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The World Health Organisation’s (WHO) Thursday announcement that the H1N1 influenza is now officially a pandemic does not really have direct effects on Finland. Preparations continue as planned, says Juhani Eskola, director general at the National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL).
      The H1N1 or swine flu epidemic, on the other hand, will almost certainly reach Finland as well, reckons THL research professor Petri Ruutu.
      The virus is not expected to land in Finland in a larger scale before the autumn at the earliest. During the summer, influenzas do not usually spread.
     
In terms of severity, the illness is in the same class with a regular seasonal influenza.
      However, because the population lacks immunity against this particular virus strain, more people than normal may fall ill.
      Usually between 5 and 15 per cent of the population catches influenza annually. Around a thousand individuals die as a result of the illness in Finland each year.
     
Petri Ruutu hopes that those returning from areas where the illness is more common would monitor their symptoms and contact their local health centre when needed.
      This way the spread of the illness can still be contained in Finland at this stage.
      Finland has viral medicine reserved for around a quarter of the population. Finland has also placed an order for virus vaccinations. The vaccine is not expected before November, though.
     
At this point the WHO alert shows up primarily in Finland’s Epidemics Act.
      It was amended last week in such a way that the measures delaying the epidemic can be continued despite the fact that a swine flu pandemic has now been declared.
      In this way patients can be isolated, even forcibly if need be, to delay the spread of the disease.
      The Act will be changed again if the illness will start to spread in earnest in Finland, says Director Tapani Melkas from the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health.
     
Finland’s fifth swine flu case was confirmed on Thursday.
      The virus was found in a 30-year-old man who had returned from a trip to Australia.
      The man, who is currently in isolation at home, sought treatment on Wednesday. According to THL he is in good condition. THL is currently checking through other people who shared a flight with the man.
      On June 8th, the man returned from Frankfurt to Helsinki on Finnair flight AY 822.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Swine flu brought to Finland from Mexico by couple is milder than feared (13.5.2009)
  Researcher: Swine flu to land in Finland from south in the autumn (18.5.2009)

See also:
  Finnish swine flu patients released from home quarantine (15.5.2009)

Links:
  WHO: Influenza A(H1N1)

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