National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan

Download or read book National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Influenza viruses have threatened the health of animal and human populations for centuries. Their diversity and propensity for mutation have thwarted our efforts to develop both a universal vaccine and highly effective antiviral drugs. A pandemic occurs when a novel strain of influenza virus emerges that has the ability to infect and be passed between humans. Because humans have little immunity to the new virus, a worldwide epidemic, or pandemic, can ensue. Three human influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century, each resulting in illness in approximately 30 percent of the world population and death in 0.2 percent to 2 percent of those infected. Using this historical information and current models of disease transmission, it is projected that a modern pandemic could lead to the deaths of 200,000 to 2 million people in the United States alone. The animal population serves as a reservoir for new influenza viruses. Scientists believe that avian, or bird, viruses played a role in the last three pandemics. The current concern for a pandemic arises from an unprecedented outbreak of H5N1 influenza in birds that began in 1997 and has spread across bird populations in Asia, Europe, and Africa. The virus has shown the ability to infect multiple species, including long-range migratory birds, pigs, cats, and humans. It is impossible to predict whether the H5N1 virus will lead to a pandemic, but history suggests that if it does not, another novel influenza virus will emerge at some point in the future and threaten an unprotected human population. The economic and societal disruption of an influenza pandemic could be significant. Absenteeism across multiple sectors related to personal illness, illness in family members, fear of contagion, or public health measures to limit contact with others could threaten the functioning of critical infrastructure, the movement of goods and services, and operation of institutions such as schools and universities.