Influenza Survival Tips

Photo of woman receiving a flu shot from a doctor.

An influenza pandemic occurs when a new flu virus arrives that people have little or no immunity to, and for which there is no vaccine. The disease spreads person-to-person, causes serious illness, and can sweep across the country and world in a very short time. There have been 3 major pandemics in the 20th Century; 1918 (Spanish Flu), 1957 and 1968. It is unknown when the next flu pandemic will occur or how many lives it may take.

Flu activity most commonly peaks in the U.S. in January or February. However, seasonal flu activity can begin as early as October and continue to occur as late as May. Although epidemics of flu happen every year, the timing, severity, and length of the epidemic depends on many factors, including what influenza viruses are spreading and whether they match the viruses in the vaccine.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends a yearly flu vaccine for everyone 6 months of age and older as the first and most important step in protecting against this serious disease. While there are many different flu viruses, the flu vaccine is designed to protect against the three main flu strains that research indicates will cause the most illness during the flu season. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended that the Northern Hemisphere's 2011–2012 seasonal influenza vaccine (same as the 2010-2011 vaccine) contain the following three vaccine viruses:

an A/California/7/2009 (H1N1)-like virus
an A/Perth/16/2009 (H3N2)-like virus
a B/Brisbane/60/2008-like virus

Terminology

Familiarize yourself with these terms to help understand influenza pandemic issues.

Avian (Bird) Flu - Is caused by influenza A viruses that occur naturally among birds. The avian flu currently of concern is the H5N1 subtype.
Influenza (Flu) - An acute, contagious, infectious disease, caused by any of a specific group of viruses and characterized by inflammation of the respiratory tract, fever, and muscular pain.
Pandemic - A global disease outbreak.
Seasonal Flu - Follows predictable seasonal patterns; occurs annually (usually in winter) in temperate climates. Health systems can usually meet public and patient needs with vaccine developed based on known flu strains.
Social Distancing - is the public health practice of encouraging people to keep their physical distance from each other during disease outbreaks in order to slow the spread of infection.
Swine Flu - is caused when a seasonal human flu virus combines with an avian flu virus in swine (e.g. pigs, hogs). The two viruses combine and create a new swine flu strain such as our current concern the H1N1 subtype.

A serious flu outbreak would overwhelm medical centers and cause delays in both emergency and routine care. It would trigger shortages of beds, ventilators, drugs, masks, gloves and other supplies for survival. Unlike a hurricane or terrorist bombing, a pandemci would drag on for months and affect communities nationwide at the same time. Therfore, when planning for a flu pandemic your emergency kits and pandemic flu survival supplies should be augmented to include:

Food and water for up to 2 weeks and possibly as much as 6 weeks
Medications for up to 2 weeks including fever and pain medication such as Tylenol
Multivitamins to maintain a healthy immune system
Rehrydration solutions, such as Gatorade or Pedialyte for children
Large garbage bags to store contaminated trash
Soap and disinfectants for surfaces

To minimize the risk of getting the flu, take these steps to limit the spread of germs and make good hygiene a habit.

Wash hands frequently with soap and water.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.
Put used tissues in a waste basket.
Cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve if you don't have a tissue.
Clean your hands after coughing or sneezing. Use soap and water or an alcohol-based hand cleaner.
Try to avoid close contact with sick people
Stay at home if you are sick.


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