Is America Prepared To Handle The Next Viral Flu Epidemic? - By: Darryl Bentson

The world has endured several flu strains in recent years, including the Avian or bird flu, Spanish flu and the swine flu or the latest - H1N1. Invariably, every year during flu season, we often hear the question - "Is America prepared to handle the next viral flu epidemic?". And every year, the answer is the same-NO! It became obvious last year, when the shortages of the H1N1 vaccine occurred and experts agree that such shortages are likely to happen again, when the next strain of viral flu epidemic arrives. According to the Armed Forces Institute, in Washington, DC, chief of the molecular pathology department, Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, "I think in the future, there will be a pandemic.....type of flu is impossible to predict at this point." Is America prepared to handle the next viral flu epidemic?

This observation was made a few years back, but much of the information remains the same today. America may be ill-equipped to handle the next viral flu epidemic or pandemic, should one occur. In fact, there is about ten times as many doses of vaccine needed every time the next viral flu epidemic breaks out someplace in the world. When a viral flu breaks out, we’ve seen it time and again that it comes down to vaccinating the most vulnerable and leaving the rest of the population to fend for themselves because vaccines cannot be manufactured quickly enough. The main reason for this is that strains of viral flu mutate into newer strains, rendering previous versions of vaccine useless, in some cases.

According to a federal report that was done back when the bird flu started spreading worldwide, the United States was not ready to handle a massive flu outbreak and predictions were that as many as 1.9 million Americans could die in a viral flu pandemic, should one occur. In the report, it called for the need to produce 600 million doses of flu vaccine within six months, but if a deadly flu pandemic of global proportions broke out, quarantines would need to be implemented and hospitals would be overwhelmed, while rioting would occur at vaccination locations.

While travel restrictions might delay a viral flu epidemic by a month or two, it would hardly cause a viral flu epidemic from breaking out and causing these potential scenarios. Despite studies, planned quarantines and emergency plans, the fact remains that the H1N1 virus came close to proving that America might be ill-prepared for this type of situation, which was evident by the lack of vaccines that were available for the general public. To the Government and health system’s credit, America is probably better equipped than most countries of the world in combating viral pandemics.

It is true that the next viral flu epidemic could be right around the corner and the question still remains, "Is America, or for that matter, the entire world, prepared to handle the next viral flu epidemic?" and the answer may not be what you might have wanted to hear.

About the Author

American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists - AAPS, is the leading provider of medical certifications for pharmaceutical scientists. Founded in 1986, AAPS offers timely Pharmaceutical scientific training programs, on-going education, information resources, opportunities for networking, and professional development.

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