Tourists give up overseas trips and instead choose domestic trips, especially Jeju Island, because they worry about H1N1. A traveler who chose a domestic trip said in an interview, “I am afraid to go overseas because I worry about H1N1.” Then, what is H1N1 and how does it influence the plans of travelers?
H1N1, sometimes called swine flu, is a new influenza virus. It has a mix of genes from human, bird, and swine flu viruses. It was first discovered in America in April 2009. It spreads like the seasonal flu and moves easily from human to human.
Most people have some degree of immunity to seasonal flu virus, but H1N1 is different; most people have little or no immunity to H1N1.
The incubation period of H1N1 is from 1 to 7 days. After the incubation period, symptoms of H1N1 come out. The symptoms are fever, runny nose, sore throat, cough, tiredness, and muscular pains like the seasonal flu virus and sometimes vomiting and diarrhea.
Luckily, doctors can determine whether the symptoms are from just a cold or from H1N1. If the main symptoms of the patient are a runny nose or a stuffy nose, it is just a cold. However, if the symptoms are complex as above, the patient may be infected with H1N1.
At present, H1N1 is infecting people all over the world, and the number of cases comes to over 180,000. About 1799 people already have died. The rate keeps rising. The WHO abandoned figuring the total number of cases of H1N1 because the speed of H1N1 infection is too fast.
In Korea, 10 to 60 people are infected by H1N1 a day. The total number of cases comes to more than 3332. On August 15, one person in Korea died. He was aged 50. After a trip to Thailand, he showed the symptoms of H1N1, and then, he passed away of a complication of H1N1. Also, on August 16, the second death in Korea came out. In addition, the third death in Korea came out on August 27. Three people in Korea have died of H1N1 in thirteen days. Now, Korea is not a safety zone against death from H1N1 anymore.
Meanwhile, 3 people in Africa and 8 people in the Eastern Mediterranean have died. In addition, 106 people in South-East Asia and 53 people in Europe have died. Also, 1579 people in the Americas and 50 people in the Western Pacific have died.
If you want to prevent H1N1, you need to make an effort every day. You should wash your hands for more than 20 seconds in flowing water and don’t touch your nose, eyes, and mouth if possible. In addition, when you come back from outside, you should wash your hands. Also, avoid crowded places if possible and take enough rest.
Finally, infection routes of H1N1 are coughing or sneezing. When we cough or sneeze, we need to use tissues or our hands to cover our mouth and nose. Then, we should wash our hands immediately.
If people recognize the seriousness of H1N1 and try to prevent it from spreading, we will stop the spread of H1N1.
