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Flu / Influenza
Stay Ahead of the Class With Great Tips To Get Prepared For College!
Seasonal flu or common flu is a respiratory illness that can
be transmitted from person to person. Many people have some sort of immunity to
the common flu and a vaccine is available.
Avian flu or bird flu is caused by influenza viruses that occur naturally in
wild birds. Most forms of these viruses cause few problems. The H5N1 virus
however, is highly pathogenic. It is deadly to domestic fowl and can be
transmitted from birds to humans. Humans have no natural immunity to the H5N1
virus and there is no vaccine is available.
Pandemic flu is virulent human flu that causes a global outbreak of serious
illness. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease spreads easily
from person to person. There were 3 flu pandemics in the 1900's. There was 1918
Spanish flu, the 1957 Asian flu, and the 1968 Hong Kong flu. More than 40
million deaths worldwide have been attributed to the Spanish flu pandemic.
Currently, there is no pandemic flu.
-
The Flu! A Guide for Parents - prepared by the CDC. (79 KB pdf file)
- The 2007-2008 Flu
Season - From September through early December, influenza activity remained low
in the United States.
By the week ending February 16, 2008, 49 states were reporting
widespread influenza activity.
- How Does Seasonal
Flu Differ From Pandemic Flu?
- Pandemic Flu: A Planning Guide for Educators identifies issues to consider when planning for seasonal flu, a mild or moderate pandemic
flu, or a severe pandemic. It tells what a "flu pandemic" is, how influenza spreads, and what can be done to limit the
spread of the flu. (487 KB pdf file)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks that you remind children to:
- Cover their nose and mouth with a tissue when they cough or sneeze—have them throw the tissue away after they use it.
- Wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after they cough or sneeze. If water is not near, use an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
- Remind them to not to touch their eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs often spread this way.
-
Protecting Children From Flu
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Information for Parents, Schools,
and Childcare Providers
-
World Organization for Animal Health (OIE)
- World Health Organization (WHO)
- Pandemic Flu:
Preparing and Protecting Against Avian Influenza
This is a White House page with links to the Implementation Plan for the
National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza.
- Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic
Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - helps employers determine
appropriate workplace practices and precautions, the guidance divides workplaces
and work operations into four risk zones, according to the likelihood of
employees' occupational exposure to pandemic influenza. Recommendations for
employee protection are presented for each of the four levels of anticipated
risk and include engineering controls, work practices and use of personal
protective equipment such as respirators and surgical masks and their relative
value in protecting employees.
- Bird Flu
 prepartion checklist and guideline.
- Avian Flu
 Emergency Food Supply & Supply Kit
- FDA Approves First U.S. Vaccine for Humans Against the Avian Influenza Virus H5N1
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today announced the first approval in the United States of a vaccine for humans against the H5N1 influenza virus, commonly known as avian or bird flu.
- Travel Industry Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist
Businesses in the travel industry?including travel agencies and air, rail, bus, and cruise lines?will play a key role in protecting the health and safety of their personnel and travelers in the event of a pandemic. Planning and coordinating with public health and emergency management agencies at the local, state, national, and international levels are critical.
- Rapid Response was Crucial to Containing the 1918 Flu Pandemic (National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)
One of the persistent riddles of the deadly 1918 Spanish influenza pandemic is why it struck different cities with varying severity. Why were some municipalities such as St. Louis spared the fate of the hard-hit cities like Philadelphia when both implemented similar public health measures? What made the difference, according to two independent studies funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), was not only how but also how rapidly different cities responded.
- NIAID Expands Capability for Influenza Research and Surveillance
The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), today announced it is awarding $23 million per year for seven years to establish six Centers of Excellence for Influenza Research and Surveillance. Collectively, the centers will expand NIAID?s influenza surveillance program internationally and in the United States, and will bolster influenza research in key areas, including understanding how the virus causes disease and how the human immune system responds to infection with the virus. The goal of the newly created centers is to provide the federal government with important information to inform public health strategies for controlling and lessening the impact of seasonal influenza as well as an influenza pandemic.
- Statement by Health & Human Services Secretary Leavitt on the WHO Global Pandemic Influenza Action Plan to Increase Vaccine Supply
The World Health Organization (WHO) deserves continued support and commendation for its leadership in guiding the global effort to prepare for and respond to a potential human influenza pandemic.
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