hours. This pandemic was so unprecedented, and it exerted its worldwide effect with such fury, that a state of panic existed within many global communities. The pattern of fatalities was particularly alarming. The elderly and infirm were not its targets. Instead, it disproportionately afflicted young adults that had otherwise been entirely healthy.
More recently, the Ebola epidemic can be considered a clarion instance of how a future global emergency can suddenly arise. For the first time in human history, because of air travel, there can be nearly instantaneous spread over long distances. Both influenza and Ebola are zoonoses, just like the viruses that spread HIV, SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), or West Nile Virus.
A zoonosis is an infection spread from one animal species to another, such as swine flu. The majority of human pathogens and almost all emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic in origin.
Our human activities are crucial to its incidence and spread. We interact with other people around the world. As a result, illnesses like the flu are now being granted a larger global range. However, to ensure we don’t have another pandemic like the 1918 flu, there are simple steps to take now:
1. Get Vaccinated. Even though vaccines have to be formulated based on the prior year’s influenza strain and a guess about the next, general cross-reactivity can provide significant protection. Even when that protection is incomplete, outcomes are decidedly improved. If flu still strikes, the incidences of hospitalization and morbidity are significantly less in the vaccinated population.
2. Utilize Social Media. Campaigns to encourage