Pandemic influenza preparedness
Influenza is a highly contagious respiratory disease caused by influenza viruses. For public health purposes, influenza is divided into:
- Seasonal (human) influenza – seasonal influenza viruses cause widespread epidemics each year among communities worldwide.
- Zoonotic influenza – a wide range of animal influenza viruses can also cause influenza in humans that are known as “zoonotic” infections. Despite their typically sporadic occurrence, any case of zoonotic infection is a serious public health concern.
- Pandemic influenza – an influenza pandemic occurs when a novel influenza virus emerges against which most of the world’s population has little or no immunity.
Four influenza pandemics have occurred at irregular intervals over the past 100 years and have varied widely in their severity. Historically the most catastrophic influenza pandemic occurred in 1918–1920 (the so-called “Spanish Flu”) and killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide.
Due to the nature of influenza viruses, a future influenza pandemic is inevitable and preparedness for it vital. Since the re-emergence of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) in 2002–2003, the world has accelerated its preparations for the next influenza pandemic.
However, in 2019, a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) emerged and caused the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsequent enormous human, societal and economic costs provided a stark reminder that while the threat of an influenza pandemic remains very real, the threats posed by other respiratory viruses must also remain very much on our radar, and corresponding preparedness efforts that go beyond influenza preparedness must now be recognized as absolutely vital.
WHO, with support from numerous experts around the world, has continued to develop and update its comprehensive range of guidelines, tools and other resources to support countries in their preparedness activities for influenza pandemics and for pandemics caused by other respiratory viruses. Such resources now include:
- Influenza pandemic preparedness planning
- Pandemic preparedness planning for influenza and other respiratory virus threat
- Public health and social measures (PHSM) during a pandemic
- Surveillance during an influenza pandemic.
The better prepared the world is, the better the outcomes of the inevitable next pandemic will be – countless more lives saved, societal disruption minimized and economic costs to countries greatly reduced. Global pandemic preparedness is truly an investment in the future.
Let us all take action now