Preparedness and Information on Pandemics

A pandemic is a sudden outbreak of a disease or illness that becomes widespread rapidly and affects the whole population or the world.

An epidemic is more than the expected amount of instances of an illness or disease occurring in a region or area during a period of time such as the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

An endemic is a disease or illness that is present in an area at all times but in relatively low amount such as the continuous endemic of malaria in many parts of the world.

Of the three a pandemic is potentially catastrophic in nature and can cause widespread death and panic if not handled properly.

The World Health Organization has developed a staging system of how a pandemic starts and develops. However basically it can be broken down into sections:

In stage 1 the virus basically begins and circulates through animals, however no cases of the illness has been reported to have spread to the human population. Birds are especially susceptible to spreading the disease quite rapidly.

In stage 2 the virus that was circulating among animals has been reportedly transmitted to humans, thereby becoming a pandemic threat.

In stage 3 the virus or disease transmitted by animals to humans has caused small clusters of people in regions or communities to become sick but the transmission has not been directly correlated with human to human contact. However human to human transmission can happen in some instances when it involves family contact or caregiver contact.

In stage 4 the virus has been confirmed in having been transmitted by human to human contact. This transmission outbreak causes a significant upwards momentum in the spread of the disease and an increased risk for a pandemic. Containment of the disease area is necessary and although there is an even more increased risk of a pandemic, it has not been concluded as of yet that this is a pandemic.

In stage 5 is direct transmission between human to human contact into at least two different regions or countries. Stage 5 is a prelude to a pandemic being called. Stage 5 also requires immediate communication, organization and implementation of all pandemic measures.

Stage 6 is known as the pandemic stage and is defined as outbreaks in at least one other additional region different than in stage 5. The virus or disease is rapidly spreading and acknowledging stage 6 status means a pandemic has now been confirmed.

The H1N1 influenza virus in 2009 created concerns that a new pandemic was upon us. In April 2009 the World Health Organization moved to stage 5 on its pandemic classification system. However by June 2009 the World Health Organization had increased it to stage 6, which made it the first pandemic of its kind since 1968. However rapid response including community outreach started seeing the numbers decrease by November of 2009.

Unfortunately prior to H1N1 the Hong Kong Flu or H3N2 caused thousands of deaths in the United States from 1968 through 1969. The virus was first detected in Hong Kong in 1968 and spread to the US later in 1968. This pandemic killed approximately one million worldwide.

The "Black plague" was first started in the middle ages and the it spread from China in the 19^th century to India killing millions. The United States first saw instances of the plague in the 1900's in San Francisco. Even today there are still several cases of bubonic plague reported worldwide each year.

The Asian flu or the H2N2 virus caused thousands of deaths in the United States between 1957 and 1958. The Asian flu was first seen in China in February 1957 and quickly spread to the United States by June of 57.

The scariest part of pandemics are that they are at risk of being developed for use in biological warfare. Having been connected with the military, I think it is abhorrent that anyone would use a biological weapon against any human being.

In the 80's there was reportedly an accident at a lab where Chinese scientists were developing viral diseases for biological warfare. In early 2009 it was reported that an Al-Qaeda training camp near Algeria had been totally annihilated by the plague. It was decided that the group was developing weapons to be used with biological warfare.

Biological warfare is the deliberate use of poisons, disease or viruses to kill or incapacitate humans. It uses the pathogens or microorganisms as weapons. The microorganisms can either be viral, protozoic, fungal or bacterial in nature. The microorganisms reproduce within their victims, who then become contagious and deadly simulating the multiplier effect. The whole chemical and biological warfare theory is that once a contagion is set loose it can have an immediate effect on a population and many people will continue to spread the disease as they move about. Toxins however often have an immediate effect and a short life period.

I have worked in the medical field for a long time and just this past year was heavily involved in giving H1N1 vaccinations in my local area, as well as receiving the vaccine myself. Having worked in the medical field for as long as I have I have been exposed to everything from AIDS to TB and done fine, however there is always that one virus or disease out there that may unfortunately strike you or someone you know. I feel lucky that my immune system seems to be working fine however I see a lot of patients everyday with compromised immune systems weakened by medical conditions, lack of proper medical care, insufficient dietary needs or in some instances even environmental factors. I worry about my patients and try my best to give the one thing that is most important when tackling a pandemic and that is information and education about how to protect yourself from contracting the disease or virus strain. Many people take unwarranted risks when they should be more careful especially when faced with a scare of a pandemic.

Simple thing anyone can do to protect themselves from contracting any virus, especially the flu include:

Wash hands regularly with soap and water, carry antiseptic wipes or alcohol based rub.

Avoid sick people. Stay out of public places if at all possible, avoiding crowded areas such as concerts or movies.

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue if you have to cough or sneeze, then throw the tissue away immediately. If you have to cough don't use your hand to cover your mouth cough into your sleeve of your arm.

The most important thing to remember is while doing precautions may or may not keep you from getting sick, they still are important so that you can make every effort not to contract the disease or virus. This is especially true for the very young, elderly or anyone who has compromised immune systems.

References for this article include:

www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic/healthprofessional.htm
www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/influenza/faf-eng.php
www.who.int/bulletin/volumes/87/8/08-060772.pdf
microbiology.suite101.com/article.cfm/understanding_who_pandemic_alert_phases