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 influenza pandemic
Communicating in a pandemic: New research identifies what we want to know and when
Oct 16, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- How much information do people want in the event of an influenza pandemic? When do they want to be told, and who should the information come from?
H1N1 simulation modeling shows rapid vaccine rollout effective in reducing infection rates
Oct 13, 2009 |
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Early action, especially rapid rollout of vaccines, is extremely effective in reducing the attack rate of the H1N1 influenza virus, according to a simulation model of a pandemic outbreak reported in a new study in CMAJ (Canad ...
H1N1 critical illness can occur rapidly; predominantly affects young patients
Oct 12, 2009 |
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Critical illness among Canadian patients with 2009 influenza A(H1N1) occurred rapidly after hospital admission, often in young adults, and was associated with severely low levels of oxygen in the blood, multi-system organ ...
Aspirin misuse may have made 1918 flu pandemic worse
Oct 02, 2009 |
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The devastation of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic is well known, but a new article suggests a surprising factor in the high death toll: the misuse of aspirin. Appearing in the November 1 issue of Clinical Infectious Di ...
Prenatal exposure to flu pandemic increased chances of heart disease
Oct 01, 2009 |
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People exposed to a H1NI strain of influenza A while in utero were significantly more likely to have cardiovascular disease later in life, reveals a new study to be published in Journal of Developmental Origins of Health an ...
Report: Pregnant women need flu shots
Sep 23, 2009 |
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Pregnant women should be sure to get all their flu shots as soon as the vaccines become available this year to protect them against both the seasonal flu and the H1N1 (swine) flu, according to eight leading national maternal ...
Medical ethics experts identify, address key issues in H1N1 pandemic
Sep 23, 2009 |
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The anticipated onset of a second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic could present a host of thorny medical ethics issues best considered well in advance, according to the University of Toronto Joint Centre for Bioethics, ...
Was the public health response to swine flu alarmist?
Sep 03, 2009 |
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The public health measures taken in response to swine flu may be seen as alarmist, overly restrictive, or even unjustified, says a US expert in a paper published on BMJ.com today.
Nottingham scientists commissioned for urgent swine flu research
Aug 25, 2009 |
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Scientists at The University of Nottingham and Health Protection Agency East Midlands are carrying out urgent research into the swine flu virus after being commissioned as part of the government's response to the pandemic.
Scientists develope optimal flu vaccine priorities, question federal guidelines
Aug 20, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Optimal control of the spread of the seasonal flu and H1N1 is achieved by prioritizing vaccinations for schoolchildren and for adults aged 30 to 39 in the United States. Those are the findings of a new study ...
Officials, public urged to use latest evidence as guide in H1N1 prevention and protection
Aug 12, 2009 |
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As flu season draws nearer along with the potential for resurgence in H1N1, leading infectious diseases doctors, hospital epidemiologists, and infection preventionists urge officials to base recommendations for the public ...
Scientists study past flu pandemics for clues to future course of 2009 H1N1 virus
Aug 11, 2009 |
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A commonly held belief that severe influenza pandemics are preceded by a milder wave of illness arose because some accounts of the devastating flu pandemic of 1918-19 suggested that it may have followed such a pattern. But ...
New research assesses use of Tamiflu, Relenza to prevent flu
Medicine & Health / Medications
Aug 03, 2009 |
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Two common anti-influenza drugs — Relenza and Tamiflu — appear equally effective at preventing common flu symptoms when given before infection, say researchers from the Stanford University School of Medicine. However, data ...
Scientists decoding genomic sequences of H1N1 using isolates from outbreak in Argentina
Jul 31, 2009 |
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Researchers at the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health are working with Argentina's National Institute of Infectious Diseases, the National Administration of Laboratories ...
Researchers warn: 'Antivirals might be wasted on the elderly'
Jul 28, 2009 |
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A model of influenza transmission and treatment suggests that, if the current swine flu pandemic behaves like the 1918 flu, antiviral treatment should be reserved for the young. Researchers writing in the open access journal ...
