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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2009;301(23):2432.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Transmissibility of the H1N1 "swine flu" influenza strain causing the ongoing outbreak is substantially higher than that seen in seasonal influenza strains and may be comparable with that of pandemic influenza strains, according to an early analysis of the virus by an international team of scientists participating in the World Health Organization's Rapid Pandemic Assessment Collaboration (Fraser C et al. Science. doi:10.1126/science.1176062 [published online ahead of print May 11, 2009]).

The researchers analyzed the outbreak in Mexico, early data on spread in other countries, and viral genetic diversity. Although many uncertainties remain, clinical severity of infection appears to be less than that seen in the 1918 pandemic but comparable with that seen in 1957, they said.

Early evidence suggests that the H1N1 virus causing the current influenza outbreak might spread as easily as pandemic strains of the 1900s, but its clinical severity is uncertain. (Photo . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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