from Wikipedia
Pandemic InfluenzaAn influenza pandemic is an epidemic of the influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population.
In contrast to the regular seasonal epidemics of influenza, these pandemics occur irregularly, with the 1918 Spanish flu the most serious pandemic in recent history.
Pandemics can cause high levels of mortality, with the Spanish influenza being responsible for the deaths of over 50 million people.
There have been about 3 influenza pandemics in each century for the last 300 years. The most recent ones were the Asian Flu in 1957 and the Hong Kong Flu in 1968.
Seasonal InfluenzaFlu season is the portion of the year in which there is a regular outbreak in flu cases.
It occurs during the cold half of the year in each hemisphere.
Flu activity can sometimes be predicted and even tracked geographically. While the beginning of major flu activity in each season varies by location, in any specific location these minor epidemics usually take about 3 weeks to peak and another 3 weeks to significantly diminish.
Individual cases of the flu however, usually only last a few days. In some countries such as Japan and China, infected persons sometimes wear a surgical mask out of respect for others.
Avian (Bird) FluAvian influenza,
sometimes Avian flu, and commonly Bird flu refers to "influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds."
"Bird flu" is a phrase similar to "Swine flu", "Dog flu", "Horse flu", or "Human flu" in that it refers to an illness caused by any of many different strains of influenza viruses that have adapted to a specific host.
All known viruses that cause influenza in birds belong to the species: Influenza A virus.
All subtypes (but not all strains of all subtypes) of Influenza A virus are adapted to birds, which is why for many purposes avian flu virus is the Influenza A virus (note that the "A" does not stand for "avian").
Adaptation is non-exclusive.
Being adapted towards a particular species does not preclude adaptations, or partial adaptations, towards infecting different species.
In this way strains of influenza viruses are adapted to multiple species, though may be preferential towards a particular host.
For example, viruses responsible for influenza pandemics are adapted to both humans and birds.
Recent influenza research into the genes of the Spanish Flu virus shows it to have genes adapted to both birds and humans; with more of its genes from birds than less deadly later pandemic strains.
H5N1 StrainInfluenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as A(H5N1) or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species.
A bird-adapted strain of H5N1, called HPAI A(H5N1) for "highly pathogenic avian influenza virus of type A of subtype H5N1", is the causative agent of H5N1 flu, commonly known as "avian influenza" or "bird flu".
It is enzootic in many bird populations, especially in Southeast Asia. One strain of HPAI A(H5N1) is spreading globally after first appearing in Asia.
It is epizootic (an epidemic in nonhumans) and panzootic (affecting animals of many species, especially over a wide area), killing tens of millions of birds and spurring the culling of hundreds of millions of others to stem its spread.
Most references to "bird flu" and H5N1 in the popular media refer to this strain.
As of the July 25, 2008 FAO Avian Influenza Disease Emergency Situation Update, H5N1 pathogenicity is continuing to gradually rise in wild birds in endemic areas but the avian influenza disease situation in farmed birds is being held in check by vaccination.
Eleven outbreaks of H5N1 were reported worldwide in June 2008 in five countries (China, Egypt, Indonesia, Pakistan and Vietnam) compared to 65 outbreaks in June 2006 and 55 in June 2007.
The "global HPAI situation can be said to have improved markedly in the first half of 2008 [but] cases of HPAI are still underestimated and underreported in many countries because of limitations in country disease surveillance systems".
Pandemic Severity Index The Pandemic Severity Index (PSI) is a proposed classification scale for reporting the severity of influenza pandemics in the United States.
The PSI was accompanied by a set of guidelines intended to help communicate appropriate actions for communities to follow in potential pandemic situations. [1]
Released by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on February 1, 2007, the PSI was designed to resemble the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale
From the Massachusetts Health and Human Services
Isolation refers to separating people who are ill from other people to prevent the spread of a communicable disease.
Quarantine refers to separating and restricting the movement of people who have been exposed to a communicable disease and are not yet ill.
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Trapper Pettit said
Thank You, Thank You, Thank You. I, like you became aware several years ago. However, I did not become concerned until last fall. I took the wait and see attitude. Now , I feel that with what is occurring at such a rapid rate, that the mutation from human to human could take place at any minute now. It could be today, or three years from now. With a great big prayer I hope it NEVER takes place, but there is something in my gut that says it is going to happen. Trying desperately to make attempts to educate my family and friends has been difficulty to say the least. People will bury their head in the sand, rather than face certain unpleasantness that may occur in their life. The best way to sum up my feelings is that it feels like I am a rookie Insurance agent. at a christmas party.
Your website is just what I have been looking for in my effort to educate, and quite frankly warn my loved ones and friends. The only thing that I have noticed is the amount of time one must be prepared for. The information i received was about a Year and a Half, This is Homeland Security’s best estimate. This came to me from one of the Under Secretary’s while playing golf one afternoon.
One again, Thanks for such an informative site, that will draw people to the information, vs, turning them off.
Trapper Pettit
preparedcitizens said
Hi Trapper,
Thank you for the encouragement. I can relate to your “feeling like a rookie insurance agent at a christmas party”.
I never knew that public health and the passion that I feel would ever be a “mission” for me. Now I think most of those who can’t prepare. People who can’t afford to, or can’t leave their home due to disabilities, or those who don’t even have a home….thoughts of how to assist them keep me awake long into the night. Those with computers can stumble upon or search for this information…so many cannot. Who will tell them to prepare? So I take the information that I have and go door to door or distribute it in front of local stores or other gathering places. It is hard though because I do try to shield the little ones a bit.
When I have gone door to door, people have appreciated the information. There is something that happens when you do this. It is like we are beating back a giant :) It does seem though, when you give people information like this, that you are handing them a lifeline.
I hope that this website and so many others that are out there answer all of the questions that your friends and loved ones have. All anyone can do is keep on trying to reach those who do not yet understand that preparedness is the best mitigation strategy going….closing schools, social distancing, masks, and hand washing will all be done by folks who know the reasoning. They, like us, will want to keep safe and keep their family safe as well. Empowering people.
There are many great websites and sources of information in greater “flublogia”…. this effort of mine is just one tiny example.
Thank you for stopping by and reading the pleas of this “rookie insurance agent”. Please let me know if there is anything that I can do in order to help *you* to reach those that you love and care about.
We are on our own to face this but we can help each other to understand what we face.
Best Regards,
“Jackie”