Fear of an Influenza Pandemic
"Fear of the Pandemic Approaching"
This year's fear of a pandemic virus is justified given this year's flu strain is a combination of the swine, avian, and the human virus. The general director of the World Health Organization has asked every country to be on the lookout for the potentially fatal signs of a pandemic.
The fear is further bolstered by the first cases of the influenza virus and how quickly it has spread to different continents. The fact that there is a presence in most continents means that it can quickly mutate to infect millions of people. Even more scary is the fact that there is no known vaccine yet. In the past, most countries would be prepared to treat the strain of flu that is plaguing the world at the time, but because the most recent strain of the flu has come about fairly quickly, they were not adequately prepared to create an effective vaccine.
