sat, november 6, 1999
The Arizona Republic
In 1997, a 3-year-old Hong Kong child was diagnosed with the flu and died 12 days later. Other cases also emerged, prompting officials to slaughter 1.3 million chickens believed to be the cause. No new cases were identified after that. "We may have stopped it in its tracks." Strikes said.
Flu pandemics have struck at least three times this century. In 1918, the flu killed 20 million people worldwide.
I Other pandernics occurred in 1957 and 1,968, the latter year killing 38,000 people in the United States alone.
For a flu epidemic to be classified as a pandemic, the virus has to be different from previous strains, victims must not have an immunity to it and the virus must be able to move quickly from one person to another.
This year's flu season officially began in Arizona this week with the flu diagnosis of an 11-month-old girl in Pima County. Across the country, there have been scattered reports of the flu in 20 states.
Health officials say this year's flu is expected to be about average in both virulence and duration. The season runs through April.
Strikas reiterated the call by local health, officials for people Ito get flu shots, especially if they are at risk for flu complications such as pneumonia.
Meanwhile, the CDC is urging health officials and emergency response workers to develop plans for a flu pandernic in the same way they should prepare for bioterrorism.
A pandemic is inevitable, Strikas said, because viruses continually change at the genetic level as they migrate from birds to pigs to people.
"Some of it is the virus is still smarter than we are," Strikas said. "Sometimes we don't get it (the strain) right."