Influenza pandemic
An epidemic is a sudden outbreak of a disease which infects an unexpectedly high proportion of a particular population in a given time. A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads rapidly over a wide geographic area and affects a whole region, continent or the world. Over the last century there have been periodic influenza pandemics. The most devastating was that of 1918-1919 (”Spanish Flu”), which is estimated to have infected up to 500 million people, of whom between 10 to 20% died. Others, with much lower mortality rates, occurred in 1957 (“Asian Flu”), 1968 (“Hong Kong Flu”) and 1977 (“Russian Flu”).
In the years since 1977 scientists have been concerned that another influenza pandemic was inevitable. This has now happened, with the 2009 outbreak and rapid global spread of Swine Flu. However, prior to this outbreak, concerns were mostly focused on the H5N1 strain of avian influenza (“Avian Flu”).
Particularly since its most recent emergence in 2003, the H5N1 Avian Flu virus has been of great concern, both for its consequences for wild and domestic fowl and for its impact on the human population. Many millions of birds have been infected, died or required slaughter. The virus is prevalent in South-East Asia, and birds carrying it have been found in many regions outside the South-East Asian region, including many European and African countries. Amongst infected humans, the mortality rate exceeds 50%. Avian Flu may still potentially become a human pandemic virus.
In August 2006, IRGC co-organised an expert workshop hosted in Beijing by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Chinese National Influenza Center. Participants from a number of countries in Europe, North America and Asia gave presentations on early warning, epidemiology and a number of aspects of preparedness planning and discussed options for improving national and international preparedness planning and control and response policies. Many aspects of the workshop’s presentations and discussion remain pertinent to how governments and public authorities are responding to the 2009 Swine Flu epidemic.
IRGC’s financial contribution to this project was around 20,000 CHF from general funds.
For more information, please contact Ms Malin Samuelsson at the IRGC Secretariat malin.samuelsson@irgc.org