he April 24, 2009Public health professionals in Spain’s autonomous communities (CC.AA.) received a letter from the Ministry of Health and Social Policy declaring an international public health emergency declared by the World Health Organization (WHO).The alert comes as a result of the isolation of a new influenza virus in the United States and Mexico, which was later identified as Swine influenza virus A/H1N1.
in Spain, The new virus began spreading in the summer of 2009 and grew steadily until the first wave of the pandemic occurred in early fall.
he “The 7th Epidemic Public Health Forum: Past, Present and Future”The conference, organized by Fundamed with support from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), brought together former senior officials who faced the influenza A crisis in Spain to analyze lessons learned from the experience.
“It all started with a There was great confusion and lots of meetings as we faced an unknown situation We don’t know how long this will last. As we realize the impact and severity, the uncertainty subsides. ” he pointed out. José Javier Castrodeza, former Secretary-General of the Ministry of Health and Director-General of Public Health.
One day after Mexico reported an influenza A outbreak, Spain reported its first possible cases, most of them Young people aged 20 to 30. “We realize there’s nothing extremely serious,” he added.
Generally speaking, there are some quantitative differences between flu seasons, The highest transmission rates of the disease always occur among children under 15 years of age., both in Spain and in Europe. Even so, the H1N1 pandemic imposes a greater disease burden on this age group than does seasonal influenza. In contrast, incidence rates in people over 64 years of age are estimated to be lower in this pandemic compared with previous seasonal influenza waves.
Regarding the lessons learned from this pandemic, Castro de Sa noted, A lot of “political participation” and? Pandemic must ‘take away’ political debate. Likewise, he was critical of the role of the media at the time. “Every death announced comes as a shock to people,” he stressed.
In itself, As vaccines arrive, distribution questions arise. “Due to the dispersion and geographical scope, not all community centers are available. AA. It’s just as easy as in Madrid. In this case the pharmacists did an excellent job delivering the vaccine to all locations,” he emphasized.
“If we had a vaccine that required temperatures as low as those required for COVID-19, Distribution is impossible”, added.
In itself, Manuel Escolano, former Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Valencian Communityalso told about his experience on the front line of influenza A and elaborated on Basic pillars so that they can be replicated in future situations.
“This is very important Maintain ongoing communication with WHO and the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC). The flow of information is very important, as is the role of the expert committee,” he stressed.
In this context, the former general manager recalled the controversy surrounding the issue. Vaccines and antiviral drugsand hospital supplies.
“We have to supply supplies at very high prices. Looking ahead, Addressing vaccine financing systems in national health systems (SNS) is criticalbecause there are significant differences between communities, greater coordination should be sought in vaccine procurement,” he noted.
The last pandemic in a ’20th century vision’
Antoni Plasència, former director of public health at the Ministry of Health of Catalonia ISGlobal, current director of the Barcelona Institute of Global Health, emphasized, Influenza was the last pandemic to be controlled from a 20th century perspective.
“The situation has changed significantly from 2008 to 2023, adding variables such as immediacy of communication“, he continued.
Looking back, first of all risk assessment. “The ability to respond in real time with the latest data was insufficient to make decisions at the time,” as was communication at all levels. He added: “The first pandemic of this century is starting to put the spotlight on those responsible for public health.”
“However, having a vaccine is a decisive factor because prevention toolseven though they are not actually used,” the expert admits.
In the same way, Plasencia recalled There is a 28% chance that we will experience a COVID-19-like pandemic in the next few years.“But we also have indications that they are preventable,” he stressed.
at last, Juan Camacho, former Director of Public Health, Ministry of Health, Government of Castilla-La Manchaemphasized For the 2009 pandemic, ‘we had time to prepare’.
“As the first news came in, we started rolling out Communication mechanisms, information and response systems. At the same time, analytical tools were built in the medical field to make decisions. “
then, Communication becomes an important part. “Before we took action, we evaluated how to deliver the information because we knew that if we couldn’t convey the information easily, maybe it wasn’t the right decision,” he stressed.
However, With COVID-19 outbreak, no time for analysis. “No one could have imagined the gravity of the situation. Questions were raised about the source and authenticity of the information, especially in relation to China. If we had received reports warning of high mortality rates, we would have had a different reaction. Initially The data is similar to that of the common flu, which creates a false sense of security,” he said.
The severity of the A/H1N1-2009 influenza virus pandemic has been described as Good-natured and well-liked in most parts of the world Compare that to previous pandemics in the 20th century.