Blast From The Past: The 2008 Influenza Pandemic Plan

Pandemics are not the same as seasonal flu outbreaks, the latter is caused by small changes in influenza viruses that people have already been exposed to. It's amazing that a new flu vaccine is developed each year to protect people against the expected changes in existing viruses.

New York State, the state's local health departments and the federal government are actively involved in planning for the possibility of an influenza pandemic. View and print the 2008 Influenza Pandemic Plan here.

Statements That Caused Influenza Pandemic Scare

An influenza won't really be a pandemic if it didn't hit the each countries' alert level. Here's some of the statements even doctors say lack of scientific consistency in the recent hysteria surrounding bird influenza.

• avian influenza is caused by a distinct new virus – H5N1
• it’s a real threat
• 60 people have died worldwide from it, so therefore
• 30% of the world’s population is in danger of extinction
• millions of birds have died from it, and soon it will mutate to a human form
• drugs and vaccines will save us
• the threat is imminent – no time to lose

Influenza Pandemic At A Glance

Influenza pandemic has been around since 1700s. The most recent pandemic scares were Asian Flu in the year 1957 and Hong Kong Flu in the year 1968.

An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads on a worldwide scale and infects a large proportion of the human population. Influenza, commonly known as flu, is an infectious disease of birds and mammals caused by an RNA virus of the family Orthomyxoviridae (the influenza viruses). In humans, common symptoms of influenza infection are fever, sore throat, muscle pains, severe headache, coughing, and weakness and fatigue. Learn more >>