Influenza pandemic
hideAn influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population. In contrast to the regular seasonal epidemics of influenza, these pandemics occur irregularly, with the 1918 Spanish flu the most serious pandemic in recent history. Pandemics can cause high levels of mortality, with the Spanish influenza estimated as being responsible for the deaths of over 50 million people. There have been about three influenza pandemics in each century for the last 300 years. The most recent ones were the Asian Flu in 1957 and the Hong Kong Flu in 1968.
Influenza pandemics occur when a new strain of the influenza virus is transmitted to humans from another animal species. Species that are thought to be important in the emergence of new human strains are pigs, chickens and ducks. These novel strains are unaffected by any immunity people may have to older strains of human influenza and can therefore spread extremely rapidly and infect very large numbers of people. Influenza A viruses can occasionally be transmitted from wild birds to other species causing outbreaks in domestic poultry and may give rise to human influenza pandemics.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns[when?] that there is a substantial risk of an influenza pandemic within the next few years[when?]. One of the strongest candidates is a highly pathogenic variation of the H5N1 subtype of Influenza A virus. As of 2006, prepandemic influenza vaccines are being developed against the most likely suspects which include H5N1, H7N1, and H9N2. Certain scholars and senior policy advisors argue that pandemic influenza represents a substantive threat to the international economy, to each nation's national security, and a challenge to international governance.
On 11 June 2009, a new strain of H1N1 influenza was declared to be a global pandemic (Stage 6) by the World Health Organization after evidence of spreading in the southern hemisphere.
For more information about Influenza pandemic, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with flu pandemic
Study: H1N1 flu virus ill-suited for rapid transmission, but new strain bears watching, could mutate
Jul 02, 2009 |
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A team from MIT and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 "swine flu" virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses.
1918 flu resulted in current lineage of H1N1 swine influenza viruses, study says
Apr 30, 2009 |
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In 1918 a human influenza virus known as the Spanish flu spread through the central United States while a swine respiratory disease occurred concurrently. A Kansas State University researcher has found that the virus causing ...
Scientist warns over pandemic flu vaccine 6-month time lag
Apr 27, 2009 |
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New research published today (Monday April 27) from the University of Leicester and University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust warns of a six-month time lag before effective vaccines can be manufactured in the event of a ...
Scientists put interactive flu tracking at public's fingertips
Nov 16, 2009 |
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New methods of studying avian influenza strains and visually mapping their movement around the world will help scientists more quickly learn the behavior of the pandemic H1N1 flu virus, Ohio State University ...
Researcher shows possible link between 1918 El Nino and flu pandemic
Space & Earth / Earth Sciences
Sep 14, 2009 |
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Research conducted at Texas A&M University casts doubts on the notion that El Niño has been getting stronger because of global warming and raises interesting questions about the relationship between El Niño and a severe flu ...
Study: Vaccination of 70 percent of US population could control swine flu pandemic
Sep 10, 2009 |
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An aggressive vaccination program that first targets children and ultimately reaches 70 percent of the U.S. population would mitigate pandemic influenza H1N1 that is expected this fall, according to computer modeling and ...
Pandemic flu can infect cells deep in the lungs, says new research
Sep 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Pandemic swine flu can infect cells deeper in the lungs than seasonal flu can, according to a new study published today in Nature Biotechnology. The researchers, from Imperial College London ...
Flu mortality formula is potentially misleading, say scientists
Jul 15, 2009 |
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A standard calculation used in forecasting potential numbers of deaths during the swine flu pandemic risks misleading healthcare planners by being open to both over- and under-estimation of the true figures, ...
Humans may give swine flu to pigs in new twist to pandemic
Jul 09, 2009 |
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The strain of influenza, A/H1N1, that is currently pandemic in humans has been shown to be infectious to pigs and to spread rapidly in a trial pig population.
Researchers describe the 90-year evolution of swine flu
Jun 30, 2009 |
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The current H1N1 swine flu strain has genetic roots in an illness that sickened pigs at the 1918 Cedar Rapids Swine Show in Iowa, report infectious disease experts at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public ...
World 'getting closer' to swine flu pandemic: WHO
Jun 02, 2009 |
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The world is "getting closer" to a swine flu pandemic as the virus shows early signs of spreading locally in countries outside the Americas, a senior World Health Organisation official said Tuesday.
Bird flu virus remains infectious up to 600 days in municipal landfills
May 27, 2009 |
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Amid concerns about a pandemic of swine flu, researchers from Nebraska report for the first time that poultry carcasses infected with another threat — the 'bird flu' virus — can remain infectious in municipal ...
Swine flu: Early findings about pandemic potential reported in new study
May 11, 2009 |
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Early findings about the emerging pandemic of a new strain of influenza A (H1N1) in Mexico are published today in Science.
WHO: up to 2 billion people might get swine flu
May 07, 2009 |
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(AP) -- The World Health Organization says up to 2 billion people could be infected by swine flu, if the current outbreak turns into a pandemic.
Swine flu could protect against deadly mutation: experts
May 07, 2009 |
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The global outbreak of swine flu hovering just below the pandemic threshold could provide immunity for those already infected if the virus mutates into a more deadly form, scientists have told AFP.
