Pandemic Preparedness - Why should I prepare for a Swine Flu Pandemic?

A flu pandemic is a flu outbreak of global proportions, which occurs when a flu virus acquires the ability to spread easily from person to person, in several countries around the world at the same time. 

A pandemic flu virus, like A(H1N1), is a brand new virus originated from a sudden, major change in the structure of an already known virus. Consequently, most people have no immunity against it.

The new flu virus can kill large numbers of people.   

How does a flu pandemic differ from a seasonal flu outbreak?

Seasonal flu outbreaks are epidemics. This means that the responsible virus is capable of spreading quickly, and almost simultaneously, among people in a limited geographic region, usually a country. Immunity is somewhat present, due to previous exposure to the virus.

Usually, fewer people die from a flu epidemic than from a flu pandemic. 

Are there other differences between pandemics and seasonal flu?

Flu pandemics and seasonal flu outbreaks differ for a number of other reasons. These are highlighted in the table below.

	Pandemics	Seasonal Flu
Outbreaks	Rare, generally occurring up to four times a century, and not limited to any particular season.	Annual, usually occurring between October and March.
Impact	Restrictions on travel and public gatherings are possible. Schools and businesses likely to stay closed for long time periods.   Health systems are severely stretched.   Major impact on domestic and world economy.	Modest impact on society with some schools closing for short time periods.   Health systems can usually meet public and patient needs.   Manageable impact on domestic economy.
At-risk groups	Young, fit adults aged 18 to 45.	Infants aged up to two years; elderly aged 65 and over; and people with certain medical conditions (asthma, heart disease, lung disease, cancer and diabetes).
Recovery	Most patients don’t recover. Conditions get worse within 12 to 24 hours, leading to death in around 60% of cases.	Most patients recover within one to two weeks.
Death rate	High (50-100 million deaths worldwide in 1918. Of these, 675,000 in the US, and 255,000 in the UK).	Significantly lower (250,000 to 500,000 deaths worldwide, each year. Of these, up to 40,000 in the US, and 12,000 in the UK).
Vaccines	May not be available or effective; available too late; or distributed sporadically.	Mostly effective and available.
Timescale	Difficult to predict. May come in two or more waves, several months apart. Each wave may last six to eight weeks.	Six months, usually from October to March.

Adapted from: Pandemic – How to Survive the New Killer Virus, Lorena Tonarelli, Chris Barber. Mowbray Publishing, 2009.

Symptoms and complications may, or may not, be different. For example, the symptoms and complications of seasonal flu are similar to those of swine flu, but differ from those of bird flu.

Why should I prepare?

Pandemic preparedness is crucial, for many reasons. As millions are expected to fall ill during a pandemic, difficulties may arise in maintaining adequate supplies of food and water; transportation and communication systems may collapse; power plants may not work; and mass panic may put our safety at risk. Also, healthcare professionals may be unable to cope with extremely large numbers of patients; and there may be a shortage of vaccines and medications.

Having a good pandemic preparedness plan will help you be better able to cope with these problems as they arise. It will give you peace of mind. 

 

From Chapter 5

Let’s look at pandemiconomics

If you think the current global economic crisis is tough, you haven’t seen anything yet! Concerns over human-to-human killer flu transmission will clearly have a disastrous effect on people, families, cities and the international economy. That is why the world’s most powerful ... continued

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From Chapter 8

The 9 Critical Items That Will ‘Disappear’ from Shelves

A key issue in preparing for pandemic influenza is ensuring that your household is stocked with emergency supplies. As with any disaster, electricity, gas, and water services may not be available for weeks, healthcare workers may not be able to reach you for hours or days and, most likely, you’ll not have... continued

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From Chapter 10

14-Day Menu Plan

Here is a sample menu plan comprising simple meals made entirely from shelf stable food ingredients; with one main meal, daily. Using this via a two-week rotation, together with some alternate recipes provided later in this chapter, you have a month’s worth of tasty and highly nutritious meals... continued

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From Chapter 11

Developing Your Self Sufficiency... Going that Extra Mile

While food storage is a top priority, there is a plethora of other crucial items you must have ready to hand. For example, you need a basic tools kit; and gardening implements, in case you need to grow your own fruit and vegetables. And you should consider alternative energy sources, like... continued

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