Planning and implementing preparedness activities are critical to improving the effectiveness of a response and decreasing the impacts of a pandemic. The Michigan Department of Community Health has a plan to prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic.
MDCH Pandemic Influenza Plan (updated! March 29, 2006)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has created pandemic influenza planning checklists for individuals and families, businesses, faith-based and community organizations, and state and local governments. These checklists provide guidance to help prepare for a pandemic now.
The "Spanish Flu" [A (H1N1)] pandemic of 1918-1919 was the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. By the time it ended, the Spanish Flu had killed between 20-50 million people, more than the death toll caused by World War I. The second pandemic of the 20th century, the "Asian Flu" [A (H2N2)] was identified in China in late February 1957, taking only a few months to spread and reach the United States where it caused approximately 70,000 deaths. The third and most recent pandemic was detected in early 1968 in Hong Kong [A (H3N2); it killed approximately 34,000 people in the United States.
The current World Health Organization (WHO) criteria for a pandemic is the confirmation that disease is causing multiple outbreaks in one country and is spreading to other countries, with a consistent disease pattern which indicates serious morbidity and mortality for at least one segment of the population. Although no one can predict when, many experts agree the next pandemic is inevitable.
Links to More Information on Influenza Pandemics:
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