The document discusses the 2009 H1N1 virus, including its origins and characteristics. It emerged from pigs in North America but contains genes from flu viruses found in pigs in Europe and Asia. The virus has been circulating undetected in pigs for 7.5-10 years. It can survive on surfaces for 2-8 hours and is destroyed by heat, chemicals, and alcohol-based disinfectants. The pandemic was declared in phases by the WHO as the virus spread globally.