The National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) wants to get rid of the term Mexican flu. That name suggests that there is a great danger to public health. However, the virus is comparable to a regular seasonal flu.
Since the arrival of the flu epidemic in the Netherlands pops up the name Swine flu frequently in the media. The use of the term suggests that there is a serious threat to public health, when in reality it is a common seasonal flu , said a spokesman for the RIVM on Saturday in response to a report about this in the daily newspaper Trouw. †
More about the current seasonal flu in the Netherlands>
'Common' flu
In the current flu, the virus strain H1N1 . predominates † This virus first appeared in the Netherlands at the end of April 2009. Scientists previously concluded that H1N1 is no more deadly than other flu viruses † As a result, the Mexican flu was devalued to a 'ordinary' seasonal flu † Fewer people died from this virus than from an average flu epidemic.
Three viruses play a role in this year's epidemic:the A strains H1N1 and H3N2 and a B strain † Currently 288 flu patients with H1N1 infection have been admitted and eleven patients have died, according to figures from the RIVM.
