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Chapter
1
Bird
Flu Pandemic Coming!
Reasons why there will be ANOTHER Bird Flu PANDEMIC
"Those who
cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it,"
--George
Santayana
Over the
years, many famous people have misquoted this famous statement. For
example, Abraham Lincoln once said, "Those who
ignore history are doomed to repeat it."
Why do so many
famous people agree with this simple statement? Think about it,
unless something major has changed, the cause of something in the
past will cause that same thing in the future.
We see this everyday in our lives and we call it
EXPERIENCE.
Our experience tells us that their will be another
hurricane or tornado sometime this year. If you agree, raise your
hand. There will be hurricanes and tornados every year unless
something major happens to prevent it.
I’m going to give you
information that will help you understand why the EXPERTS believe another bird flu pandemic is
coming soon. There will be links to articles and reports from
independent and well established medical and news web sites that
will confirm the general information.
“Pandemics are global in
nature, but their impact is local. When the next pandemic strikes,
as it surely will, it is likely to touch the lives of every
individual, family, and community. Our task is to make sure that
when this happens, we will be a Nation prepared.”
Michael O. Leavitt - (Secretary) U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services
Have
there been influenza pandemics before?
Influenza
pandemics occur periodically. About 30 influenza pandemics have been
recorded. There have been three previous pandemics in our
century:
“United States Department of Health & Human
Services”
What are the chances there
will be another influenza pandemic again?
Influenza Pandemics
will occur again.
“United States Department of Health & Human
Services”
How soon could a pandemic start?
"The world is now in the gravest possible danger of a
pandemic".
"The world is now overdue for influenza"
Dr. Shigeru
Omi, World Health Organization's regional director
(WHO)
If a
worldwide pandemic starts, can we stop
it?
The WHO (World Health Organization) warns that nothing
can stop a Worldwide Global Pandemic once it gets started. However,
preparing properly will reduce its impact.
"These new strains have the potential to sweep
the globe, causing millions of illnesses, in what is called a
pandemic."
U.S. President George W. Bush
The world
has doubled in population in only 40 short years
from three billion in 1959 to six billion
in 1999. See map of population
growth. That number should reach nine billion by
2042. In the past only disease and war
have sufficiently lowered population growth. Some ecologist believe
that over population strain natural resources and forces nature to
control the population by disease, malnutrition, and conflict over
resources.
The Big Bang theory suggests that our
universe began around 13.7 billion years ago.
Our most advanced
telescopes can see full universes in creation 80 million light years
away. Dinosaurs dominated the earth for over 160 million years and
humans have been around for only a small fraction of that time. To
the universe and our planet a thousand years is less than a blink of
an eye. To the universe, the difference in time between the
occurrence of a hurricane and a pandemic is zero. It’s like
comparing one second with one minute the difference is a second
occurs more frequently but every 60 seconds a minute comes around.
The Bird Influenza Pandemics history on earth
is the biggest proof. People relate strongly with things that are
here and now. They have more confidence about things they’ve
experienced themselves or in their lifetime. We will bet on things
that happen frequently in our lifetime.
Pandemics for centuries have always been a
huge worldwide health threat.
Pandemics
however, are not pleasant to talk about so many people are not aware
of there presents. There have been 30 pandemics in history and 10
pandemics of influenza A in the past three centuries. This means
three or four every century reoccurring every 20 to 35
years. 40 years has gone by since the last pandemic so we are
overdue for the next one. The flu pandemic of 1918 and 1919 killed
more people than any other pandemic in the history of the world.
Fifty million to one hundred million people died. However, the
pandemic in 1830 to 1832 was just as brutal but it happened during a
time of less population.
The H1 families of virus, the ones that are spreading rapidly
in Asia are notorious for causing pandemics. The record shows that
whenever there is an appearance of the H1 virus, an influenza
pandemic follows. In 1918, 1957 and 1968, the H1 virus appeared and
a pandemic was the result in all three cases. Many experts believe
that a worldwide pandemic is just a matter of
time.
Pandemics develop through the
interaction of one infected species with another, the larger the pool of host the greater
the chances of a pandemic starting. Primary host include poultry,
humans, and pigs. All three of these species can carry and pass the
virus. In 1968, the pandemic started in China and at that time,
there were 790 million humans, 5.2 million pigs and 12.3 million
birds. Since, then the human population in China has increased by
approximately 500 million people, the pig population by over 500
million, and the poultry population by a staggering figure of over
12 billion. This trend is similar in populations of the other Asian
countries and the world. This creates an enormous mixing bowl for
viruses. The influenza H1 virus does not need a huge population of
host to create pandemics. However, the more host that get the
infection the greater the probability that the virus will mutate
into a pandemic. Combine that truth with the tremendous growth in
travel over the past 50 years, and the conclusion is that a pandemic
will occur.
This is called PASSAGE and the more of this that happens the
easier it will be for the virus to learn to spread from one human to
another quickly. Read about passage and the mutant swarm in chapter
2.
As recently as Aug of 2007 a study by Fred Hutchinson
Cancer Research Center confirms that there was limited, HUMAN TO HUMAN SPREAD of the bird Flu Virus in
Indonesia in 2006. This mutation spread between members of a small
family.
This was the first statistical confirmation
of people catching the H5N1 virus from other people instead of
birds.
This was a confirmation of
person-to-person transmission of a strain of bird influenza A (H5N1)
in Northern Sumatra. "The containment strategy was implemented late
in the game, so it could have been just luck that the virus burned
out," Longini said. "It went two generations and then just stopped,
but it could have gotten out of control. The world really may have
DODGED A BULLET with
that one, and the next time we might not be so lucky."
A member of the United Nations health
organization reported in June 2007 that the H5N1 virus is MUTATING UNPREDICTABLY AND
QUICKLY. “The virus is already entrenched,
embedded in this part of the world and….it has been VERY, VERY UNSTABLE and
CHANGEABLE ,” said WHO director Shigeru Omi.
At the same time, health
officials in Indonesia reported a strain of bird flu virus
that INFECTS HUMANS EASIER
is now
circulating. Director Shigeru Omi said that the Indonesian strain
earlier had two different grades, but now has split into FOUR DIFFERENT SUBGROUPS. Update Feb 24, 2008 SEVEN
DIFFERENT SUBGROUPS.
Also, reports in October of 2007
have US scientist revealing that the H5N1 bird flu virus is
gradually mutating to a disease that
WILL spread easily from human to human. The University of
Wisconsin-Madison (UW-Madison) made their study available in the
Journal Public library of Science Pathogens. Team leader, Yoshihiro
kawaoka, an international expert on influenza, found a change in the
virus that allows it now to attack the NOSE AND
THROAT.
To understand the situation
completely take a look at the problems in Bangladesh and India where
the population is more than one billion people. Many of these people
are poor, ignorant and hungry. Too many people will eat dead and
dying birds that populate much of India and the bird flu has spread
to infect many of the birds in Bangladesh's 64 districts. Many of
these people have a close relationship with chickens and other birds
roaming around freely in backyards and fields.
Combine the history of bird flu viruses
and the progression of the H5N1 virus and you have a TRAIN
WRECK waiting to happen.
Reported
in mid March 2008:
The virus has the greatest chance
of MUTATING into a worldwide
pandemic in INDONESIA. “More
people die of the bird flu in Indonesia than any other place on
earth. FAO’s (Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations) Chief Veterinary officer Joseph Domenech
stated that “I am deeply concerned that the HIGH LEVEL OF VIRUS CIRCULATION IN BIRDS
in the country could create conditions for the virus to
mutate and finally cause a human influenza pandemic,” Domenech
warned.
A major problem is there are about 1.4 billion
chickens in Indonesia and about 300 hundred million of them live in
the backyards of roughly 30 million people. Coupled with this is the
reliability of the vaccine they use to treat the poultry is
questionable.
A worldwide pandemic
could start ANYTIME OF THE
YEAR! The virus can continue to mutate all year long
because NECESSARY conditions
are always present somewhere in the world. Indonesia’s best chance
to mutate the virus is probably in May to October when it is
dryer and cooler. The northern hemispheres best dates to assist the
virus in mutating is probably November to May during the flu
season.
HONG KONG IS ON
FULL ALERT
The 2008 flu season in Hong Kong
is being monitored intently. Many experts believe
the easiest way for the H5N1 virus to cause a pandemic is to mutate
after mixing with the common flu. Then the two viruses would
exchange genetic information and pave the way to the next
PANDEMIC.
Authorities
in Hong Kong are carefully watching for problems because it has been
hit very hard like many other parts of the world with seasonal flu
outbreaks. Any area where there are high levels of bird flu virus
circulation and people sick with the normal flu becomes an area
where the FINAL
MUTATION could take place.
South Korea has Troubling Bird Flu
Virus Mutations!
South Korea joins the party
with what is called a PATTERNING OF
MUTATIONS that is making it possible for humans to
infect other humans.
The HSToday reported on April 8,
2008, that the Bird flu virus is “undergoing
rapid and troubling mutations."
Experts believe that different strains of the
virus that are spreading
explosively around the world are mixing
and creating dangerous mutations
that will eventually lead to
easy human to human transmission of the H5N1 virus.
THE FOURTH
CONFIRMED OCCURRENCE OF THE VIRUS PASSING
FROM ONE FAMILY MEMBER TO ANOTHER WAS REPORTED BY CHINESE HEALTH
OFFICIALS IN APRIL 2008.
The virus
may need one final mutation to
create a worldwide pandemic. Published online Jan 6,
2008 in Nature Biotechnology, US scientists find the only thing that
could be preventing humans from catching the H5N1 virus easily is
the shape of sugar molecules on cell surfaces in the nose and
throat. As stated above reports indicated the virus was able to now
infect the nose and throat area. However, this ability by itself is
not enough because binding of the necessary elements would only
occur sporadically. Right now, the H5N1 virus binds easily with
elements in the lower respiratory tract and does not have the right
type of shape to bind consistently with the upper respiratory tract.
When the shape of the molecules mutates so that they will bind
easily and consistently with the cell surfaces in the nose and
throat, look out because that’s when the trouble will start. While,
the infection is located in the lower respiratory tract, when
someone coughs or sneezes, no problem they do not pass the
infection. However, when the infection is in the nose and throat and
that person coughs, BANG the
virus will SPREAD EASILY!
See a summary graphic of the developing
pandemic.
This is
VERY VERY IMPORTANT
because it now gives the virus the ability to spread
more easily by coughing and
sneezing . Many experts believe that it
is ONLY A MATTER OF
TIME before this happens.
As of Wednesday, February 20, 2008, the bird
flu has killed 228 out of 362
people. The World Health
Organization (WHO) has confirmed 98 new human cases and 69 deaths in
the last year, which is a 70% death rate. The virus will reach a
maximum threat to the world when the death ratio reaches a much
lower rate. This mutation could happen quickly giving the virus an
ability to spread in the upper respiratory tract.
As the virus becomes less lethal
to each person that catches it, it becomes more dangerous and almost
guarantees the arrival of the next pandemic.
News
that the bird flu virus has mutated to a less lethal,
but far more dangerous form
confuses many people. If it is less lethal, then why is it
more dangerous? It has to do with how viruses survive, grow and pass
from one person to the next. An extremely deadly virus, like Ebola,
which kills 90 percent of the people infected, actually is not
dangerous to the human population as a whole. Why, because it does
not spread easily from one person to the next which is a requirement
for a worldwide pandemic to occur. This is because it kills its host
too quickly. The host dies before they get a chance to pass it to
the next person. A pandemic virus is highly infectious and spreads
from one person to another in an undetectable way. When a virus
becomes less lethal to each host, it is able to survive in the host
in an undetectable state, and for a longer period, this is what
makes pandemic viruses extremely dangerous. A dangerous virus is one
that kills a small percentage of its host and hides in a hidden
state easily passing from one person to the next. How contagious a
virus is along with its kill rate determines how dangerous it is.
The most dangerous viruses that kill the
largest number of people
have a low kill
rate instead of a high kill rate. An extremely deadly virus could
wipe out a small community, which of course would be very horrifying
but less dangerous to the human race. Why, it wiped out the
community and there is nobody left to spread it.
On the other hand,
a virus with a very low kill rate, it kills only one or two percent of its hosts, but is
highly infectious is the most dangerous. Since a very high percent
of the people who are infected do not die from it, they can walk
around airports, sporting events, and cities spreading the virus. In
the history of infectious disease, the most deadly viruses, in terms
of the total number of people killed worldwide, were highly
infectious, not necessarily highly lethal. If you look at the 1918
Spanish flu, the virus killed about 2.5% of its host.
The World Health Organization (WHO)
made the following
announcement about the bird flu virus. “The bird flu
gets more dangerous, but less lethal”. Experts of
infectious disease say that the bird flu virus is in the process of
mutating to a less lethal strain. This fact has them very worried.
Therefore, instead of killing 90 percent of people it infects, the
virus has lowered its kill rate to about 50 percent. This means the
virus is mutating into a form that can survive inside a person's
body without detection and without killing that person, making it
far more contagious. This is what concerns the WHO and the CDC the
United State Health Agency. They are experts in infectious disease
and know the history of pandemics. If this virus kill rate drops
further, down to 20 percent or less it will become even more deadly
globally.
Its threat to the world will
be more pronounced and will become
more of a
pandemic threat because the virus could easily slip out of the
country where it started. It will slip out and get onto airplanes
and into airports and spread rapidly from one country to
another.
How does this
information affect you? You’ll have
to make important decisions from the beginning of the pandemic to
the end. When the pandemic does start the more you know about it the
better you’ll be able to adjust to it. Also, you’ll be more able to
determine if information given to you is consistent with things you
already know. Once the pandemic starts, it could happen very quickly
leaving little to no time to
prepare.
The above statements are very disturbing
and show a
progression that can easily lead to the next worldwide pandemic.
Remember Doctor Omi is the mouthpiece for WHO (World Health
Organization) anything he says comes from the entire organization
and each word is handpicked. They do not want to cause a panic but
it is obvious to anyone seriously following the situation that they
believe the pandemic could start at anytime.
I’ve had sleepless nights when learning about the important
steps the virus has taken towards the coming pandemic. However, I
know that everyone who reads this guide has a tremendous advantage
and GOD WILLING will realize the need to prepare is NOW!
Question:
Why are so many
people not preparing for a bird flu pandemic?
Answer:
There are a few reasons but I believe the main reason is most
people do not know the history of bird flu pandemics. The last two
bird flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 were mild and did not get much
coverage by the news agencies. Even though there were about 3
million people worldwide who died. This shows you that sometimes the
news agencies agendas will cloud their coverage of certain events.
If this were people dying of hurricanes because of global warming, I
believe the coverage would have been different.
In conclusion to why people are
not preparing for the threat of a flu pandemic?
The main reason is that the development
of a severe pandemic is very slow and gradual. Let’s say that
a radical terrorist organization said they were going to do
something and they took 100 years to do it, do you think they could
catch you by surprise? Especially, if there were very few signs of
the threat in our everyday life. We as people, businesses, and
countries and as a world have other challenges on a daily basis. We
have our personal lives to live, our careers, our hopes and dreams,
our ups and downs and we don’t have time for a pandemic.
When you look back at it, you see three or four pandemics
every century but only one severe pandemic every 90 years. The
severe pandemics in 1830 and 1918 did not happen if you ask most
people. Every year 30,000 to 50,000 people die in the United States
of the flu but most people are not aware of it.
It seems
that mild flu pandemics in 1957 and 1968 are actually signs of the
development of the big one yet to come. When you think about it, it
makes sense because pandemics in general happen, when a new type of
influenza appear that is very unfamiliar to humans. Usually all
those who went through a severe pandemic were dead when the next big
one rolled around.
I think if humans had a life span of 150
years, we would be making preparations like crazy, because we would
remember what happened before. But then again maybe severe pandemics
would not occur until the last participants were all
dead.
The next big
question is how do you respond? If you believe along
with virtually all the experts that there will be another pandemic,
THEN HOW CAN YOU IN GOOD CONSCIENCE DO
NOTHING. A pandemic is no Joke but a horrible
disaster. Our only real weapon is preparation. If you've ever saved
any money for a possible emergency, this is the time to make plans
for you and your family. Your family
depends on you!
The major governments of the
world and the medical experts are frantically preparing for a
pandemic. Because pandemics happen 3 or 4 times
periodically every century like hurricanes happen a few times every
year, the United States is now ranking pandemics by category 1, 2,
3, et cetera.
See the
United States ranking system.
Also, see the the World Health Organizations warning and ranking
system. The pandemic that will come later could
make the record-breaking 1918 Spanish pandemic pale in
comparison. Today, there are over 3 times more people on earth
than in 1918 and laboratory experiments indicate that the present
virus is just as dangerous as the ones in both 1918 and 1830.
Notice the 1918 pandemics was 88 years
after the 1830 pandemic and today is 89 years since 1918.
Question: What makes this strain of
the bird follow so different? Answer: The (WHO)
World Health Organization says that recent history has not seen a
strain this dangerous. There are more birds dying and more
infections of countries bird population than ever before. A pandemic
happens when a new influenza virus appears and starts spreading as
easily as normal influenza.
Question: What is an
Influenza Pandemic or Bird Flu Pandemic? Answer:
Avian influenza is a large group of different influenza viruses that
usually affects birds. Rarely, these bird viruses infect other
species, including pigs and humans. An influenza pandemic happens
when a new type appears that is very unfamiliar to humans. In other
words, it has not circulated around and throughout our population.
Many times, infection is the result of coughing and sneezing. Since,
the virus is new; our immune system will have no pre-existing
immunity. This causes people infected with the pandemic influenza to
experience more serious disease than that caused by normal
influenza.
Question: Why should people
worry about a virus that only affects birds?
Answer: The avian H5N1 is a strain with
pandemic potential, because it might adapt into a strain that is
easily transferable from human to human. Once this occurs, it will
no longer be a bird virus but a human influenza virus. Therefore,
new influenza viruses that mutated and adapt cause an Influenza
pandemic to humans.
Question: What is the
difference between an epidemic and a pandemic?
Answer: An epidemic is a disease that spreads
unusually fast and expansively among people in the same time on a
localized level. Whereas a pandemic is the same as an epidemic
except its reach is widespread and global in nature.
Question: How often do
pandemics occur?
Answer: Influenza pandemics
occur periodically. An influenza pandemic is indeed a rare but
recurrent event. There have been three previous pandemics in our
century: The “Spanish influenza” in 1918, the “Asian influenza” in
1957, and the “Hong Kong influenza” in 1968. The 1918 pandemic
killed an estimated 50–100 million people worldwide. That pandemic
was the deadliest in human history. The others that followed were
much milder, with an estimated 2 million deaths in 1957 and 1
million deaths in 1968. Laboratory and clinical evidence suggests
the present day H5N1 Virus could be as dangerous as the 1918 strain.
Question: What are the signs
indicating that a pandemic could occur soon?
Answer: There have been 10 pandemics in the
past three centuries. The 1918-1920 Spanish Pandemic was the most
deadly in human history killing 50 million to 100 million people.
About 88 years before the 1918-1920 Spanish Influenza Pandemic the
pandemic of 1830-1832 was as severe but it took place with a
substantially lower number of people on the planet. Today our
population is 6.5 billion more than three times that of the
1918-1920 Spanish Influenza Pandemic and 89 years later. Since
mid-2003, this virus has caused more severe outbreaks of poultry
than any other time in human history. More than 220 million birds
either have died from the virus or eliminated due to culling
activities in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. The
majority of cases are occurring in four Asian countries (Cambodia,
Indonesia, Thailand, and Viet Nam). It has stricken mostly
previously healthy children and young adults. Thank god, so far, the
virus has not jumped easily from birds to humans or spread readily
among humans. Should H5N1 evolve to a form as contagious as normal
influenza, a pandemic could begin.
Question: Once the pandemic
actually starts, is it possible to stop it in its epidemic stage?
Answer: Once the virus becomes fully
contagious, its global spread is a certainty. Countries might slow
it down to a degree but know matter what they do they cannot stop
it. Pandemics of the previous century encircled the globe in 6 to 9
months. This was when most international travel was by ship. Today
considering the speed and volume of international air travel, the
virus could spread more rapidly, possibly reaching all continents in
less than 3 months or sooner.
Question: How many people
will most likely catch the virus?
Answer:
Since, most people will have no immunity to the pandemic virus,
infection and illness rates could add up to half of the population
or more including up to four waves of influenza activity. No
countries have the staff, facilities, equipment, and hospital beds
needed to cope with expected large numbers of ill people.
Question: What kind of
medicines and medical supplies do we have to combat the
problem?
Answer: The supplies that we need in
all countries will be inadequate. We cannot depend on vaccines and
antiviral drugs, the two most important interventions for fighting
the virus. These drugs will be inadequate at the start of the
pandemic and will not be available until 4 to 6 months after it
starts. Then the virus could and probably will mutate into another
form and require further time to create new drugs.
Question: How many people
could die from this pandemic?
Answer: Because
the human population has increased over 3 times since 1918-1920,
large numbers of deaths may occur. The following four factors
largely will determine how many people could die.
1. First, the number of people who
become infected is important.
2. Second, the virulence of the
virus or the extent to which it damages its host is
considered.
3. Thirdly, how vulnerable the
population is to becoming infected.
4. Fourth, how effective are the
preventive measures. No one can accurately predict how many people
will die before the pandemic virus appears and begins to spread. All
estimates of the number of deaths are purely speculative.
Question: How will it affect
the economy?
Answer: There will be a large
number of people not going to work from illness and to avoid
infection. This will lead to social and economic chaos. Past
pandemics have spread globally in two and sometimes three or four
waves. High rates of absenteeism will cripple important services
like power, transportation, and communications. The lack of these
services will cause social disruptions to magnify.
Question: Is it safe to eat
poultry?
Answer: Yes, as long as the meat is
properly cooked. That means to cook it well and it will kill the
germs including bird flu viruses.
Question:
How should I prepare poultry dishes?
Answer: You
should do a variety of things including the following:
1. First
make sure to keep raw poultry and its juices away from other foods.
2. Second, everyone needs to wash their hands before and after
handling any foods.
3. Thirdly, always keep cutting boards,
utensils, surfaces and hands clean. Lastly, use a food thermometer
to make sure the food is cooking at the correct temperature inside,
outside and evenly. The correct temperature is at least 165 degrees
F to kill the microbes.
Question: what
is the difference between the regular flu and a pandemic
flu?
Answer: See some of the differences between a normal cold and a
pademic flu.
Question: How
do infections happen?
Answer: Infection happens
when a germ or virus gets into the body. Germs enter our bodies
frequently but when they make us sick, we call them an infection.
Viral infections or those from viruses have few effective
medications and therefore are difficult to cure. Our immune systems
are the primary defense against viruses. The first signs that a
viral infection is in development is when a person feels one or more
of the following symptoms: fever, exhaustion, headache, vomiting and
nausea.
Question: How
are infections passed from person to
person?
Answer: The body uses unbroken skin and
mucous membranes in the eyes mouth and nose to prevent
microorganisms from entering the body. We must monitor our skin for
cuts and sores because that is where germs can enter our body. In
addition, mucous membranes in the mouth, eyes and nose trap germs
from entry but are less effective than unbroken skin in preventing
infection. The transmission of the flu virus requires four
conditions as follows: one the flu virus is present, two enough of
the flu virus is present; three the virus passes through the correct
entry site and four the person is vulnerable to the virus.
Infections happen, when all four conditions occur. If one condition
is not present, then there will be no infection. The element that we
have the most control over is the amount of the virus that enters
our body.
Great and that is
how we are going to beat this disease by limiting the amount of the
virus in our environment.
Question: How can people
protect themselves?
Answer: In order to do this
you need to read and practice this guide completely.
Question: If a pandemic starts, how much warning will we
have?
Answer: Warning time will depend on where the new virus
starts.
Most people will have little or no immunity to pandemic
influenza.
Question: What are things people can do
to prevent from getting the flu?
Answer:
1. People should practice good health habits, including eating a
balanced diet and getting sufficient rest.
2. People should discuss individual health concerns with their
health care provider, health department, or other trusted sources.
3. People should cover their coughs and sneezes, and wash their
hands frequently.
4. People should stay away from sick people as
much as possible.
5. If you are sick, you should stay away from others as much as
possible.
Question: Will people with strong immune
systems be immune to pandemic influenza?
Answer: Almost no one
will be immune to a pandemic influenza virus.
1. People who recover from the disease will be immune to it.
2. One-third of the people in the United States got sick during
the 1918 pandemic.
Question: How will having a large number
of people sick affect things?
Answer: If there are many people sick,
there will be a great disruption on daily life.
Question: Is everyone at the same risk of
illness or death from pandemic influenza?
Answer: The severity of pandemic
influenza will depend on the virus that causes it.
1. Antiviral medicines can be used to treat influenza. In
general, some people are at greater risk for illness and death.
2. People who already have a health problem are often at higher
risk.
3. People with weakened immune systems (for example transplant
patients) are likely to be at higher risk.
4. Older people, young children and pregnant women tend to be at
higher risk of certain diseases.
5. In the 1918, pandemic and so far today adults from 16 to 40
were and are the group with the highest fatalities. The ones with
the strongest immune systems where attacked the hardest. Learn more
by studying the remainder of the information.
Question: Is the United States prepared
for an influenza pandemic?
Answer:
1. Steps have already been taken to prepare.
2. Federal, state, and local governments have plans.
3. The U.S. has started storing test vaccine
and medicine.
4. The U.S. is working with the World Health
Organization and other countries.
Question: When the pandemic starts who are the
people we need to contact in this emergency.
Answer: Click to
find an emergency list of
contacts.
more
information on viruses and protection
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