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ShareA pandemic is an epidemic (an outbreak of an infectious disease) that spreads worldwide, or at least across a large region.
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There have been a number of significant pandemics in human history, generally zoonoses that came about with domestication of animals - such as influenza and tuberculosis.
Lassa fever, Rift Valley fever, Marburg virus, Ebola virus and Bolivian hemorrhagic fever are highly contagious and deadly diseases with the theoretical potential to become pandemics.
Their ability to spread efficiently enough to cause a pandemic is limited, however, as transmission of these viruses requires close contact with the infected vector.
Genetic mutations could occur at which could elevate their potential for causing widespread harm, thus close observation by contagious disease specialists is merited.
In February 2004, avian influenza virus was detected in birds in Vietnam, increasing fears of the emergence of new variant strains.
It is feared that if the avian influenza virus combines with a human influenza virus (in a bird or a human), the new subtype created could be both highly contagious and highly lethal in humans.
Such a subtype could cause a global influenza pandemic, similar to the Spanish Flu, or the lower mortality pandemics such as the Asian Flu and the Hong Kong Flu.
For more information about the topic Pandemic, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Flu vaccine — The flu vaccine is a vaccine to protect against the highly variable influenza virus. The annually updated trivalent flu vaccine for the 2005-2006 ... > read more
Influenza pandemic — An influenza pandemic is a large scale epidemic of the influenza virus, such as the 1918 Spanish flu. The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that ... > read more
Avian flu — Avian flu (also "bird flu", "avian influenza", "bird influenza"), means "flu from viruses adapted to birds", but is sometimes mistakenly used to ... > read more
Cholera — Cholera (also called Asiatic cholera) is a water borne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which are typically ingested by drinking ... > read more
Spanish flu — The Spanish Flu Pandemic, also known as La Grippe Espagnole, or La Pesadilla, was an unusually severe and deadly strain of avian influenza, a viral ... > read more
Bubonic plague — Bubonic plague is the best-known variant of the deadly infectious disease plague, which is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia ... > read more
H5N1 — H5N1 is an avian influenza virus subtype. The H5N1 flu is what is commonly meant when talking of "bird flu" or "avian influenza". It is a viral ... > read moreEditor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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