Pandemic Flu: Important Information for You and Your Family
SummaryText
Produced by the Office of Information for the Department of Health in the United Kingdom (UK), this leaflet describes pandemic flu, the risk of it occurring in the UK, what makes it different from the ‘ordinary’ flu that occurs every winter, and what the UK is doing to prepare for a possible influenza pandemic.
According to the leaflet, pandemic flu is a type of influenza that occurs every few decades which spreads rapidly. The symptoms of pandemic flu are similar to those of ‘ordinary’ flu but are usually more severe. Pandemics occur when a virus develops that is so different from previously circulating strains that few, if any, people have any immunity to it. A new pandemic virus may emerge through the mixing of a human flu virus with an animal flu virus, usually an avian influenza (also known as avian flu or bird flu) virus.
The leaflet explains that people are more likely to catch pandemic influenza because it will spread rapidly and very few people will have any immunity to it. Everyone will be at risk, but some groups of people may be more at risk than others. Until the virus starts spreading it is very difficult to predict who these groups might be, as each pandemic is different. Since each pandemic is different, this also means, it is not possible to develop a vaccine until an outbreak occurs.
The pamphlet also explains that if an outbreak occurs, there are some basic measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of infection. People should cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, use a tissue whenever possible, and dispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefully. Avoiding non-essential travel and large crowds of people whenever possible will also be a good idea. Maintaining good hygiene, for example washing hands frequently in soap and water, protects against picking the virus up from surfaces and passing it on.
This leaflet is available in 21 languages.
Click here for a list of languages and to download each in PDF format.
Click here to download the leaflet in English in PDF format.
According to the leaflet, pandemic flu is a type of influenza that occurs every few decades which spreads rapidly. The symptoms of pandemic flu are similar to those of ‘ordinary’ flu but are usually more severe. Pandemics occur when a virus develops that is so different from previously circulating strains that few, if any, people have any immunity to it. A new pandemic virus may emerge through the mixing of a human flu virus with an animal flu virus, usually an avian influenza (also known as avian flu or bird flu) virus.
The leaflet explains that people are more likely to catch pandemic influenza because it will spread rapidly and very few people will have any immunity to it. Everyone will be at risk, but some groups of people may be more at risk than others. Until the virus starts spreading it is very difficult to predict who these groups might be, as each pandemic is different. Since each pandemic is different, this also means, it is not possible to develop a vaccine until an outbreak occurs.
The pamphlet also explains that if an outbreak occurs, there are some basic measures that can be taken to reduce the risk of infection. People should cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, use a tissue whenever possible, and dispose of dirty tissues promptly and carefully. Avoiding non-essential travel and large crowds of people whenever possible will also be a good idea. Maintaining good hygiene, for example washing hands frequently in soap and water, protects against picking the virus up from surfaces and passing it on.
This leaflet is available in 21 languages.
Click here for a list of languages and to download each in PDF format.
Click here to download the leaflet in English in PDF format.
Languages
Albanian, Bengali, Cantonese, Farsi, French, Greek, Gujarati, Italian, Kurdish, Pashto, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Tamil,Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese
Number of Pages
16
Source
Email from David Salisbury to The Communication Initiative, January 6 2006 and Department of Health website, January 24 2006.
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