Pandemic Inevitable So We Better Prepare

Influenza pandemics are inevitable.

That was the message delivered at this week’s pandemic influenza planning workshop. The message came from Phuoc Tran, executive director for the south central district of the Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Tran told the audience at the Shrewsbury Fire Co. that influenza pandemics occur at cyclical intervals. They occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968. The so-called “Spanish Influenza” of 1918 killed 50 million to 100 million people worldwide and was the most destructive pandemic in world history to date.

In the United States, 28 percent of the population was infected and 500,000 to 675,000 Americans died.

In contrast to the infection patterns for the seasonal flu we see every winter, Tran said, most of the victims of Spanish Influenza were healthy, young adults.

The result?

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