Las Vegas NowH1N1 Health Leaders Gather in Las Vegas

H1N1 Health Leaders Gather in Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Nv -- The H1N1 pandemic has gone global and health leaders expect it will get worse before it gets better.

According to the CDC, the virus has claimed the lives of nearly 4,000 people in the U.S. and around 22 million people have contracted H1N1.

Medical experts from around the world are meeting at the Monte Carlo Hotel in Las Vegas for the World Response Conference to share information and discuss how to contain the spread of the virus. Las Vegas could be one of the most at risk cities for the virus because so many people from all over the world visit the city.

H1N1 Flu Clinics offered this weekend

At the conference, the CDC said it has found there are drug-resistant strains of the H1N1 virus that are emerging and pose a threat. In addition, the flu rate is higher than any time since the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic but the death rate is lower.

Experts say the reason the United States leads the world in number of cases is because Americans frequently travel by airplane and often leave their healthy habits at home.

"Many tourists simply forget the common sense measures we should all employ such as coughing not into the hands, but into the sleeve, social distancing, frequent hand washing. You don't see this very often when people are distracted and having social enjoyment," said Dr. Robert Ball, epidemiologist, South Carolina Dept. of Health.

The expects are also talking about how to keep up with the demand for the vaccine which has been a problem in Clark County. The vaccines are distributed to the most populous states first so that puts Nevada near the bottom of the list. But state officials tell 8 News Now more vaccines will be shipped to the Southern Nevada Health District and pharmacies soon.