Pandemics Through Time: 1968—present
1968—HONG KONG FLU
The less severe Hong Kong flu pandemic began in that city and traveled to the U.S. in late 1968, where it killed 34,000.
Both the Asian and Hong Kong flu strains, as well as the disastrous Spanish flu, were Influenza A viruses. While these particular strains have died out, new A-type viruses, including swine flu, circulate to this day.
2004—H5N1, a.k.a. “Avian Flu” or “Bird Flu”
The avian flu of the 2000s cannot be classified as a pandemic, as it has yet to prove that it can pass easily from human to human. Nevertheless, 258 people have died over a period of six years, mostly catching the disease from infected birds. Wild birds carry the virus, but if it is passed to domesticated birds, such as chickens and turkeys, it can sicken and kill them. It is spread through the saliva, nasal secretions, and feces of infected birds. First detected in humans in Vietnam in 2003, it slowly spread to the Middle East and Africa.
It is an Influenza A subtype H5N1 virus, and it is less contagious between humans than other strains because the virus lives deep in the lungs of humans, as opposed to in the throat and near the surface of the lungs, from which it can more easily spread.
Symptoms in humans have been both typically flu-like (such as fever, cough, fatigue, and muscle aches), and more serious: eye infections, pneumonia, and severe respiratory diseases. Human infection of this virus remains rare, but if it were to mutate in a way that made the transmission between people more likely, it could become a pandemic.
2009—H1N1, a.k.a. “Swine Flu”
A brand-new strain of Influenza A type H1N1 virus, the so-called “swine flu” is actually more than your typical, normally occurring virus. Scientists have recently discovered that the new virus is a genetic combination of flu viruses usually found in pigs in Europe and Asia, in birds, and in humans.
As of May 8, 2009, there were 896 confirmed cases and two deaths as a result of H1N1 in the U.S. Worldwide, there were 2500 cases and 46 deaths. All of the deaths up to this point were in the U.S. and Mexico.
It is highly contagious between humans, and spreads through the coughing and sneezing of infected people, much like the normal seasonal flu. As of early May 2009, it had not yet reached the level of a pandemic. However, this is a future possibility due to its high level of contagiousness. There is no vaccine, but there are drugs available to treat the virus.
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