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Pandemic influenza
What is pandemic flu? A pandemic is an outbreak of a disease in many countries at the same time. A pandemic of influenza—or flu—occurs when a new flu virus rapidly spreads from country to country around the world. Pandemic flu spreads quickly because people are not immune to the new flu virus, and it can take months to develop an effective vaccine.
Pandemics are not just particularly bad flu seasons. In fact, they are
not seasonal at all; they can happen anytime. An epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that occurs in one or several limited areas, like a city, state, or country.
An epidemic becomes a pandemic if the disease spreads beyond the borders
of several countries and affects many countries across the globe. The
most recent example of a flu pandemic is the H1N1 (swine flu) pandemic
that began in early 2009 and lasted through mid-2010. The largest
pandemic in the 20th century took place in 1918. It was responsible for at least 500,000
deaths, deaths in the United States and an estimated 10 million deaths
worldwide. State or local government officials may try several measures to slow the spread of the flu, including:
What are some of the steps I can take to prepare for a pandemic?
How quickly can vaccine be made for use in a pandemic Experts will need to study the new virus to obtain enough information to make an effective vaccine. Making a vaccine is a labor intensive, time consuming process. Once a pandemic virus is identified, it can take six months to produce an effective vaccine. Even at that point, supplies will likely be very limited.
The federal government is funding research to find faster ways to
produce vaccine. They are also working with vaccine suppliers to arrange
production and distribution of vaccine in an emergency. Antiviral drugs such as Tamiflu and Relenza can prevent or reduce the severity and length of illness caused by flu. They are most effective when taken within 48 hours o the first flu symptoms. Antiviral drugs may or may not work for a new virus that causes a flu pandemic. Unfortunately—as with vaccine—we won’t know what medications are effective in fighting the virus until a specific virus is identified. It is also possible for a virus to become resistant to an antiviral over time.
Scientists are working to find new antiviral drugs and government is
working to increase the supply of existing antiviral drugs. There are other good ways to avoid getting and spreading the flu. Flu spreads from one person to another through droplets from coughing and sneezing. If no vaccine is available, the best way to avoid getting the flu is to avoid crowded conditions and close contact with others during flu season. It is also important to wash your hands often, particularly after coughing if you are sick or before touching your face. Stay home if you are coughing or sneezing, or if you might be coming down with the flu. We don’t know if wearing a mask will help. There is very little research about using masks to prevent flu. Masks are probably most useful when worn by sick people to keep their sneezes and coughs from infecting others. During a flu pandemic (outbreak) you may want to wear a mask when you are in crowded settings. A mask may protect you from other people's coughs and make it more difficult for you to cough on others.
If you are taking care of a person with the flu at home you may want to
wear a mask or respirator. Respirators include thicker fiber masks often
worn by nurses or construction workers. One commonly used respirator is an N-95
mask.
Although they keep sick people from spreading disease, masks are not
entirely effective. Do not rely on masks alone for protection during a
pandemic. Masks may reduce the spread of flu if you also avoid crowds or
gatherings, stay home when you are sick, cover your cough and wash your
hands often. Government agencies will keep the public informed through television, radio, newspapers and the Internet. Telephone information lines will also be available on a limited basis. The Washington State Department of Health and its partners will work to provide information in languages other than English. Many materials on preparing for pandemic influenza are now available on the Department of Health’s website in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Cambodian and Russian. For a list of resources visit: http://www.doh.wa.gov/phepr/factsheets.htm.
Will there be enough anti-viral drugs and vaccines for everyone during a pandemic? How will the distribution be prioritized?
The federal government is working to develop faster and more effective
ways of making enough vaccine for everyone in a pandemic. However,
currently it can take as long as six months to produce an effective
vaccine once a virus is identified and even then supplies may be
limited. A
pandemic will most likely be caused by a new virus, so antiviral drugs
such as Tamiflu and Relenza may not be helpful. As with vaccine, we
won’t know what medications will fight the virus until a specific
pandemic virus is identified. The federal government and some local
governments are stockpiling antiviral drugs, but supplies are limited.
The Department of Health—working with local, state, federal and Canadian
partners—has been planning for a potential pandemic flu outbreak and
taking action to help protect the health of people in our state. For
complete details, please see the Washington
State Department of Health’s Pandemic Influenza Plan Summary. Avian influenza What is avian flu?
There are many strains—or types—of flu virus. Certain strains infect
humans, birds or animals. An influenza virus strain that infects birds
is called avian flu or bird flu. Usually this virus only infects birds,
and when an outbreak occurs it can have a very serious impact on poultry
flocks. Outbreaks of avian flu have occurred on several continents
including North America in the last five years. An ongoing outbreak of
avian flu in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe has resulted in the
killing of millions of chickens and other domestic birds to control the
spread of the disease. Rarely, a virus may be able to infect both birds
and animals, or birds and humans.
No. The flu shot available each year only protects you from that
season's flu. There is currently no vaccine for avian flu. A seasonal
flu shot is still a good idea, though, and should be part of everyone’s
personal health plan. For other ideas on staying healthy, see the
Washington State Department of Health’s
Preventing
the Spread of Germs fact sheet.
Yes. Currently there are no reported poultry flocks in the U.S. infected
with avian flu. Poultry is safe to eat. You can make sure poultry is
safe to eat by cooking it to an internal temperature of 165 ˚F (check
the temperature with a cooking thermometer). This kills all bacteria and
viruses including the avian influenza virus. Always use safe preparation
and cooking procedures when handling and cooking poultry. Be sure to
thoroughly wash your hands after handling any uncooked meat.
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