Fatal Pandemic Flu May Break Out All Over The World

As Fujian Influenza A is spreading all over Europe and the United States, a warning has been stirred up in the middle of medical world that this flu outbreak could become the first fatal international flu epidemic since the outbreak in 1968.

AP, quoting the remarks of the experts, remarked, “This flu outbreak is going to be pandemic. The problem is just a matter of time.” During the last 20th century, a pandemic flu outbreak has occurred three times, in 1918, 1957, and 1968.

In particular, the Spanish strain Influenza, which occurred in 1918, infected 20 to 40 percent of total world’s population, resulting in over 20 million deaths.

The World Health Organization (WHO) expects that if another pandemic flu breaks out, in the case of an advanced country, approximately 1 to 2.3 million people will be hospitalized, and 280,000 to 650,000 will die from this disease. It would influence advanced countries more than it would on developing countries, reported AP.

It added that WHO lacks preparation time for an appropriate vaccine because the exact timing of a breakout is very hard to predict. Except for the United States, the situation will be worsened because of shortage of vaccines in most of the countries.