H1N1 flu is fastest moving recorded pandemic, may hit U.S. early

The H1N1 swine flu virus is the fastest moving pandemic on record, having taken root across the globe at an alarmingly rapid pace. Experts now believe its autumn comeback in the U.S. may arrive early.

The race is on among vaccine producers to thwart what experts now say is the fastest moving pandemic in history. It is now believed that the H1N1 virus will return to the North American ecology earlier than previously thought. "Vaccine production is on schedule to combat the pandemic in October, and the difficulty some drug companies are facing with manufacturing is accounted for in the timetable, Anne Schuchat, director of the Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said today in a conference call," Bloomberg reported. On Thursday, the World Health Organization said that the H1N1 swine flu virus was moving with "unprecedented speed," causing higher concern among governments that are seeking vaccinations from the pharmaceutical sector. "The flu has spread more infections globally in less than six weeks than previous pandemics produced in more than six months, the Geneva- based agency said on its Web site," according to Bloomberg. "The virus has moved unpredictably, in a 'popcorn pattern,' and communication among scientists has enabled a swift response to the disease, Schuchat said." Modern airplane travel is the likeliest culprit in helping to explain the flu's rapid spread. “We’re taking this virus very seriously, and I think it’s very important for the public to be thinking ahead,” Schuchat said Friday, in the Bloomberg report. “We do expect there to be an increase this fall. Influenza is unpredictable, and we don’t know the extent of the challenges that we’re going to face in the weeks and months ahead.”