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
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News tagged with pandemic influenza
Mutation found in swine flu virus: WHO
Nov 20, 2009 |
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The World Health Organisation said Friday that a mutation had been found in samples of the swine flu virus taken following the first two deaths from the pandemic in Norway.
Flying with the flu: Expert panel revisits the danger of air travel during a pandemic
Oct 29, 2009 |
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Attempting to ground planes during pandemics may not be worth the trouble, a panel of experts from the government, academia and the airlines industry heard at a recent meeting in Washington.
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 ...
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 ...
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 ...
Swine flu virus now most prevalent strain of flu: WHO
Aug 28, 2009 |
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The World Health Organisation said Friday that the swine flu virus has overtaken other viruses to become the most prevalent flu strain.
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 ...
H1N1 influenza pandemic modeling for public health action
Jul 20, 2009 |
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Mathematical modelling can help inform public health policy in outbreaks such as the H1N1 pandemic, write members of the Pandemic Influenza Outbreak Research Modelling Team in Canada in a CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Jo ...
Fighting the swine flu pandemic with mathematics
Jul 08, 2009 |
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As swine flu spreads across America, good data can make all the difference in controlling it.
Study of first wave of swine flu requires revised public health strategies
Jun 29, 2009 |
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There is no way to know how the newest strain of the H1N1 influenza virus will behave in the future. But scientists, notably those working at the intersections of epidemiology, mathematics, modeling and statistics, are monitoring ...
Vaccinating children may be effective at helping control spread of influenza, experts say
Jun 17, 2009 |
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Targeting children may be an effective use of limited supplies of flu vaccine, according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the EU. The study suggests that, used to support other control measures, this could help ...
Majority won't have access to antivirals in pandemic but generic drugs could help prevent deaths
Jun 12, 2009 |
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Almost 90 per cent of the world's population will not have timely access to affordable supplies of vaccines and antiviral agents in the current influenza pandemic, but it is possible that inexpensive generic drugs that are ...
