Flu Pandemic
A pandemic is a global outbreak of a disease. A flu pandemic occurs with the fast spread of a new influenza virus to which people have very little or no immunity at all. Subsequently a vaccine for such a virus takes months to develop, so the disease is difficult to contain or prevent. Such a disease spreads from person to person with ease and causes serious illness, affecting large populations in a very short time.
The gravest danger that the bird flu virus poses now is a mutation that might allow it to easily be transmitted among humans. While infections from poultry are controllable to some extent and the surveillance more accessible, rapid spread from person to person would cause a large number of victims before measures can be taken or treatments can be developed that fight the virus.
A flu pandemic knows no boundaries and if the outbreak occurs, it is impossible to control, leading to a world wide spread. Pandemics are hard to predict and, once started, may come and go in waves, each wave lasting for four to six weeks. A very severe influenza pandemic could affect millions and cause social disruption economic chaos and major disturbances to every day life. Education systems and businesses could be forced to a standstill, as well as basic services, such as public transportation and food delivery. Some estimates claim a bird flu pandemic could take the lives of 150 million people or more.