yesterday, the delegation had a briefing on the AH1N1 influenza pandemic that has infected nearly 50,000 people in the world today, 1% of such cases reported by the philippines. i learned a few things from the presentation: that flu pandemics do not occur regularly: on average, they take place between 30 to 40 years apart. the last one was exactly 41 years ago, and the longest interval was 42 years. influenza is italian for influence. that the current strain has high morbidity, but low mortality... read more
