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Pandemic Influenza
What you need to know: There is no pandemic influenza in the world today, but... Over the last couple of years, a small number of people in Asia and Europe have become ill with a strain of flu that normally affects birds. There are no cases of bird flu in humans in the United States at this time. Most, if not all, of these people have gotten the illness from birds—not from other people. But for those who have contracted the flu, this strain of flu appears to be severe with a high death rate. There is concern that this strain of bird flu could cause a pandemic—a dangerous global outbreak of disease. The pandemic may or may not be caused by the current bird flu. A global outbreak will only happen if the flu virus changes so that people can easily get it from each other, not just from birds. That has not happened yet, but health officials believe that it will eventually. It is important to be prepared and the more we plan now, the better off we will be in the future. Planning for a pandemic also helps us prepare for the normal annual flu season and other public health emergencies and disasters. "Flu” is short for influenza, a contagious respiratory illness caused by viruses. These viruses can cause mild to severe illness, depending on the strain of the virus and the person's ability to fight it off. |