Pandemic Flu

Monday, 28 September 2009 08:10

A flu pandemic occurs when a new influenza A virus emerges for which there is little or no immunity in the human population; the virus causes serious illness and spreads easily from person-to-person worldwide.

On June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared that a global pandemic of H1N1 flu was underway. On August 10, 2010, the WHO Director-General declared that the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic was over. WHO continues to report laboratory-confirmed 2009 H1N1 flu deaths and situational updates on its Web page.

H5N1 (Bird) flu is an influenza A virus subtype that is highly contagious among birds. Rare human infections with the H5N1 (Bird) flu virus have occurred. The majority of confirmed cases have occurred in Asia, Africa, the Pacific, Europe and the Near East. Currently, the United States has no confirmed human H5N1 (Bird) flu infections, but H5N1 (Bird) flu remains a serious concern with the potential to cause a deadly pandemic.

Symptoms of H1N1 Flu

Seasonal Flu

H1N1 (Swine) Flu

All types of flu can cause:

Fever
Coughing and/or sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Headaches and/or body aches
Chills
Fatigue

Same as seasonal flu, but symptoms may be more severe.

Fever
Coughing and/or sore throat
Runny or stuffy nose
Headaches and/or body aches
Chills
Fatigue

In addition to the above symptoms, a number of H1N1 (swine) flu cases reported:

Vomiting
Diarrhea

More information

Fact sheets on H1N1 Influenza

Asthma
Breastfeeding
Chronic Disease
Infants and Young Children
Pregnant Women
Smoking

Last Updated on Thursday, 09 September 2010 10:52