DYNAMICS OF A/H1N1 PANDEMIC VIRUS INFECTION IN ROMANIA -- THERAPEUTIC IMPLICATIONS.

A comparative analysis of the 3 types of influenza viruses - pandemic, seasonal and avian (H5N1) - revealed considerable discrepancies in defining risk groups, types of clinical onset and attack and lethality rates. Processing the lessons learned from past influenza epidemics and from the H5N1 infection, the medical world developed action blueprints for the eventuality of pandemic focused on reducing the death rate calculated according to the lethality index. A continual calculation of the fatality rate lead to noteworthy changes in the management of the A/H1N1v infected case, changes regarding the decision to hospitalize and the length of the specific therapy. A strict surveillance of the clinical cases and of the respective contacts substantially contributed to limiting the circulation of this new A/H1N1v virus over the summer and over the beginning of autumn. Epidemiological and clinical evaluation of the viral dynamics is crucial to the management of the current pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]