Related topics: swine flu , vaccine , influenza , pandemic
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 pandemic flu
Compound found to safely counter deadly bird flu
Dec 21, 2009 |
5 / 5 (3) |
2
The specter of a drug-resistant form of the deadly H5N1 avian influenza is a nightmare to keep public health officials awake at night.
Search results for pandemic flu
WHO chief: swine flu pandemic continues
18 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Many more people could become sick with swine flu this winter even though it has peaked in North America and some European countries, the head of the World Health Organization said Tuesday.
Study: Swine flu poses a threat to new moms
Dec 23, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- Swine flu is not only dangerous to pregnant women, but it's a threat to new mothers too, the first study to document this risk shows. An analysis of pregnant women and new mothers who were hospitalized with swine ...
Best go digital in a pandemic
Dec 22, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
The use of a digital checklist for patients being administered emergency drugs during a pandemic or following a biological terrorist attack reduces the fatigue factor, according to a report in the International Journal of ...
Global swine flu pandemic deaths pass 10,000: WHO
Dec 18, 2009 |
5 / 5 (1) |
0
The number of swine flu deaths worldwide passed the 10,000 mark about eight months after the pandemic strain was uncovered in April, reaching 10,582, World Health Organisation data showed Friday.
WHO to send swine flu vaccine to poor countries
Medicine & Health / Medications
Dec 17, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(AP) -- The World Health Organization plans to start shipping swine flu vaccine to Azerbaijan, Afghanistan and Mongolia in the next few weeks, flu chief Keiji Fukuda said Thursday.
First immunological clue to why some H1N1 patients get very ill or die
Dec 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
An international team of Canadian and Spanish scientists have found the first potential immunological clue of why some people develop severe pneumonia when infected by the pandemic H1N1 virus.
Influenza in Africa should not be ignored
Dec 15, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
Influenza is circulating in Africa, but virtually no information or attention is evident, says a new essay in this week's PLoS Medicine. Maria Yazdanbakhsh and Peter Kremsner argue that the lack of adequate surveillance means ...
Pandemic toolkit offers flu with a view
Technology / Computer Sciences
Dec 14, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- As communities brace for rising wintertime influenza cases, scientists are developing a mathematical and visual analytic toolkit to help health officials quickly analyze pandemics and craft ...
CDC: About 1 in 6 Americans have had swine flu (Update)
Dec 10, 2009 |
2 / 5 (5) |
0
(AP) -- Swine flu has sickened about 50 million Americans, and killed about 10,000, according to new estimates released by federal health officials on Thursday.
Drug-resistant swine flu cluster on Vietnam train
Dec 09, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
(PhysOrg.com) -- A cluster of seven people infected with a Tamiflu-resistant strain of pandemic H1N1 influenza has been identified in Vietnam by a team including Oxford researchers.
List of search results for pandemic flu
