# 3931
There is little doubt that the impact of the H1N1 virus on developing countries will be greater than on nations where a modern medical facilities, antiviral and antibiotic drugs, and vaccines are available.
Today, the Health Ministry of war-torn Afghanistan has declared an H1N1 emergency, and has issued what seems an extraordinary warning:
That Afghanistan could see 1 infected person in 80 die from the pandemic virus. As many as 70,000 deaths.
While that may be an excessively high estimate, Afghanistan lacks the kind of medical infrastructure that quite literally keeps the death rate low in developed countries.
According to the SAVE THE CHILDREN website on Afghanistan:
- One Afghan child in five dies, often of a preventable cause before her or his fifth birthday
- 85% of women give birth at home with untrained attendants
- 30% of healthcare facilities are without female health professionals: doctors, nurses and midwives
Add to that a predominantly young population (44% under age 15), various comorbid conditions (malnutrition, malaria, etc.), and generally harsh winters and you have a recipe for a lot of pandemic influenza deaths.
Whether it will rise to the numbers quoted in the article below . . . well, hopefully not.
But the challenges facing Afghanistan, and scores of other developing nations less well equipped to deal with a pandemic are many and very serious (see A Tale of Two Pandemics).
This report from Reuters.
Afghanistan declares H1N1 emergency, shuts schools
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghanistan declared a health emergency on Monday to help the government prevent the rapid spread of H1N1 and ordered schools closed for three weeks as part of measures against the deadly virus.
The government has also advised the public against gatherings such as weddings in enclosed areas, after Afghanistan had its first death attributed to the virus last week.
Nearly 350 positive cases of H1N1 have been detected among foreigners and Afghans and several hundred more people are suspected to be infected, a public health ministry spokesman said.
The positive cases, 271 reported among expatriates and the rest among Afghans, reflect a dramatic rise in infections registered in recent months, Farid Raaid told Reuters.
"We have declared a health emergency state on the basis of which all private (and) governmental educational institutions as well as kindergartens have been ordered to close for three weeks."
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A reminder that relief agencies, both here in the United States, and around the world, could use your support.
There has never been a better time to volunteer to help with the American Red Cross, The Medical Reserve Corps, CERT, or your Neighborhood watch.
And if your pocketbook can stand it, there are organizations like the Red Cross, Red Crescent, CARE, Save The Children, UNICEF, and others that could use your financial support as well.
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