|
|
Influenza Pandemic
April 2009
|
The Current Outbreak of Swine Flu in the United States
The current outbreak of swine flu in the United States, Mexico, and other countries has raised concerns among policymakers and public health experts about the possibility of a pandemic and about the nation's ability to blunt the effects of such an event. (A pandemic arises when a new virus emerges that has not previously circulated among the human population; that virus causes significant illness in humans; and the virus is easily transmitted from one person to another.) Beyond the human suffering that a pandemic would engender, policymakers are also concerned about the potential for economic disruptions that might be layered on top of an economy already in recession.
|
Skip Navigation
