Pandemic Diseases
A pandemic is a global disease outbreak or epidemic of infectious disease that spreads through populations across a large region. A flu pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which people have little or no immunity, and for which there is no vaccine. The disease spreads easily person-to-person, causing serious illness, and can sweep across the country and around the world in very short time.
It is difficult to predict when the next influenza pandemic will occur or how
severe it will be. Wherever and whenever a pandemic starts, everyone around the
world is at risk. Countries might, through measures such as border closures and
travel restrictions, delay arrival of the virus, but cannot stop it. The world
has seen several pandemics in the last 100 years, such as
Cholera, Influenza (Bird Flu), Typhus, HIV/AIDS, SARS, and most recently, the
H1N1 or Swine Flu. For more information on our H1N1, see our
H1N1 webpage.
Pandemic Influenza Web Sites
American Red Cross
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Florida Department of Health
Flu.gov
World Health Organization