Earth Abides Topic 1

An article about how man's own research into mutating viral strains might actually be the cause of a plague similar to that in Earth Abides.

Good article about how scientists mutated H5N1 and turned into a transmittable biological weapon

The different histories of various flu strains that have caused panic and pandemic.

This article has short and helpful descriptions of each potentially pandemic flu strand since the spanish flu

Information about how Swine Flu, as a whole, wasn't a dangerous disease compared to most pandemics, but how slow human medication caused it to become much worse than the panic had to be.

-on June 11, 2009, the World Health Organization declared the A (H1N1) strain of swine flu to be the first worldwide pandemic in 41 years. -By mid-November, federal officials were putting the death toll at about 10,000, far below the 30,000 to 90,000 range a presidential panel had predicted. -It is now clear that this is the least lethal modern pandemic. The flu appears to kill about one of every 2,000 people who get it, American researchers say. -By contrast, the Spanish flu of 1918 killed about 50 of every 2,000, and the 1957 and 1968 pandemics killed about 4 of every 2,000. -The flu has reached more than 200 countries and is still peaking in places like Eastern Europe and Russia. -The outbreak was first identified in March 2009 in Mexico. -On April 30, the W.H.O. said that it would stop referring to the virus as swine flu, after a number of countries banned pork imports or slaughtered pig hers, opting for the more clinical sounding A(H1N1). -The most common method of transmission is airborne, and it is also possible to become infected by touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching one's mouth or nose. -By late September 2009, federal health officials said the swine flu virus had not mutated in any threatening way since the spring of 2009 and that the new vaccine was still a good match for it. -none of the initial deaths in Mexico were in people older than 60 or younger than 3. -Pandemic flus -- like the 1918 flu and outbreaks in 1957 and 1968 -- often strike young, healthy people the hardest. -In China, authorities quarantined Mexican travelers in hospitals and hotels - many of whom had shown no sign of illness. -Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, temporarily closed schools, gyms, swimming pools, restaurants and movie theaters. -Mexicans donned masks for protection outdoors.

-The H1N1 flu virus caused a world-wide pandemic in 2009, but is now just a human seasonal flu virus that also circulates in pigs. -Although the World Health Organization announced the pandemic was over in August 2010, H1N1 is still circulating -The flu vaccine is your best protection against H1N1. -You cannot get H1N1 from properly handled and cooked pork or pork products. -Symptoms of H1N1 are similar to seasonal flu symptoms. - When it was first detected in 2009, it was called "swine flu" because the virus was similar to those found in pigs. - The H1N1 flu virus spreads between people in the same way that seasonal flu viruses spread.

THIS LINK ALSO HAS A BIRD FLU SECTION -Although H5N1 does not usually infect humans, nearly 600 cases of human cases of H5N1 have been reported from 15 countries since 2003. -H5N1 virus infection have occurred in people who had recent contact with sick or dead poultry that were infected with H5N1 viruses -About 60% of people infected with the virus died from their illness. *Unlike other types of flu, H5N1 usually does not spread between people *There have been no reported infections with these viruses in birds, poultry, or people in the United States -outbreaks occur in domestic poultry in parts of Asia and the Middle East. In 2011, 62 human H5N1 cases and 34 deaths were reported from five countries-Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, Egypt, and Indonesia Symptoms:Fever and cough, Acute respiratory distress, Shortness of breath/difficulty breathing, Abdominal pain, Diarrhea Complications:Pneumonia, Respiratory failure, Shock, Altered mental state, Seizures, Failure of multiple organs (e.g. kidney failure), Death

A new study carried out in France analyses the mortality rates in about 75% of the European population during the 1918-1919 flu pandemic (Spanish Flu).

-deaths rose by 86% in the 15 European nations studied during the Spanish Flu pandemic (1918-1919). 1.98 million excess deaths were recorded. -The 15 countries were: Bulgaria, England, Wales, Finland, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland and the Netherlands -The totals for the global death toll continue to be very inexact -While another estimate in 2002 estimated that the total reached 100 million after taking into account poor data from a large part of the world. -There have been 31 reported influenza pandemics since 1580

Throughout history, influenza viruses have mutated and caused pandemics or global epidemics. In 1890, an especially virulent influenza pandemic struck, killing many Americans. Those who survived that pandemic and lived to experience the 1918 pandemic tended to be less susceptible to the disease.

-Throughout history, influenza viruses have mutated and caused pandemics or global epidemics -People who survived a 1890 outbreak of influenza tended to be more protected from the 1919 outbreak -Young soldiers, men in the prime of life, were becoming ill in large numbers. Most of these men recovered quickly but some developed a secondary pneumonia of "a most virulent and deadly type." -The pandemic of 1918-1919 occurred in three waves. The first wave had occurred when mild influenza erupted in the late spring and summer of 1918. The second wave occurred with an outbreak of severe influenza in the fall of 1918 and the final wave occurred in the spring of 1919. -As the disease spread, schools and businesses emptied. Telegraph and telephone services collapsed as operators took to their beds. Garbage went uncollected as garbage men reported sick. The mail piled up as postal carriers failed to come to work. -Public officials, who were unaware that influenza was a virus and that masks provided no real protection against viruses, often demanded that people wear gauze masks. Some cities even passed laws requiring people to wear masks. Enforcing these laws proved to be very difficult as many people resisted wearing masks. -States passed laws forbidding spitting, fearing that this common practice spread influenza. -By the time the pandemic had ended, in the summer of 1919, nearly 675,000 Americans were dead from influenza. Hundred of thousands more were orphaned and widowed.

This website has a ton of information about AIDS, including issues, statistics, and its worldwide impact. It's from what seems to be a legitimate AIDS charity foundation, so it shouldn't be too sketchy.

World War I did not cause the flu, but the close troop quarters and massive troop movements hastened the pandemic and probably both increased transmission and augmented mutation; it may also have increased the lethality of the virus. Some speculate the soldiers' immune systems were weakened by malnourishment, as well as the stresses of combat and chemical attacks, increasing their susceptibility.

In the early 1330s an outbreak of deadly bubonic plague occurred in China. The bubonic plague mainly affects rodents, but fleas can transmit the disease to people. Once people are infected, they infect others very rapidly.

Fleas transmit this disease from rodents to humans This disease causes swelling of the lymph nodes and turns patches of skin black The plague got to Europe in October, 1347 from a ship that landed in Sicily, Italy from China After 5 years the Bubonic Plague killed 25 million people or 1/3 of Europes population This disease did not disappear until the 1600's

it could be a lot worse if it happened now with all the transpertation methods we use now. This could be a good future threat?

Some short information on diseases that altered the course of history. Not sure how helpful it'll be, but it appears that it could be useful.

Small Pox is the only infectious disease that has been completely wiped out through vaccination Tubercluosis promoted the pasturization of milk to help keep it clean and uncontaminated Influenza very likely influenced the course of World War I by sickening and killing soldiers and straining military healthcare systems Malaria causes about 3 million deaths per year

I think this article will be a good one for finding modern threats, such as HIV/AIDS. We've been focusing primarily on Influenza and the like. I think this is a good find for broadening our horizons.

This article talks about future bird flu problems and outlines some studies.

Bird flu (H5N1) is an influenza A subtype Bird Flu also kills tens of millions of birds per year 60% of Humans who have been infected by the bird flu have died (447 infected, 263 died) While genetic analysis of the H5N1 virus shows that influenza pandemics from its genetic offspring can easily be far more lethal than the Spanish Flu pandemic, planning for a future influenza pandemic is based on what can be done and there is no higher Pandemic Severity Index level than a Category 5 pandemic which, roughly speaking, is any pandemic as bad as the Spanish flu or worse; and for which ''all'' intervention measures are to be used.

Visit PandemicFlu.gov for one-stop access to U.S. Government avian and pandemic flu information. HHS is responsible for Pandemic Influenza Planning, outlined below. Pandemics of influenza are extreme infectious disease outbreaks. Although many infectious disease outbreaks (e.g.

The flu is responsible for 36000 deaths/year and 226000 hospitalizations/year in the U.S. Influenza viruses can change through antigenic drift, which is a process in which mutations to the virus genome produce changes in the viral H or N. Shift is the process where surface existing viral H and N proteins are not modified, but are replaced by significantly different H and Ns. This changes the virus so much that not many are immune to it which allows it to cause the most damage Wild birds are considered the reservoir for influenza viruses because more influenza A subtypes circulate among wild birds more than humans or other animal species. Normally, animal influenza viruses do not infect humans

An article of the pandemic

'Influenza' A (H1N1) virus is a subtype of influenza A virus and was the most common cause of human influenza (flu) in 2009. This strain evolved from the one causing the 1919 flu pandemic

I think this is a good starting page to make sure we know the basic vocabulary/background of influenza. We don't have to cite it as a source for the actual "research" or whatever.

Oh, sorry. It was a nice overview and it has a bunch of links at the bottom for use.

Bird flu can be transmitted between mammals - and possible humans - needing only four mutations to do so, a new study published this week in the journal Nature suggests. But the mutant virus is not deadly, and the work could show virologists how to combat others like it.

This has a good point about terrorists using the flu as a biological weapon. A genetically engineered virus could easily wipe out a population of people.

A "Story of Influenza"-- how it has come about and affected society, and how it may do so in the future. It's text-heavy but good for a quick skim or reference.

This is the home page for the CDC website. The homepage itself is not helpful, but when you go to Google, you can search this website by itself by typing site:cdc.gov at the beginning of your search and then adding other keywords. For example, on Google, I would type site:cdc.gov pandemic + "modern threat" -influenza or whatever the heck I want to search for on this site. It's a helpful tool.

The World Health Organization warned countries Wednesday that a global pandemic from a new strain of flu appeared imminent, as the number of ill continued to grow and the first death outside Mexico was reported in Texas.

While measures such as closing schools and social distancing may slow the effects of pandemic influenza, only vaccines and antiviral drugs are clearly efficacious in preventing infection or treating illness. Unless the pandemic strain closely resembles one already recognized, vaccine will not be available early. However, studies can be conducted beforehand to address questions concerning vaccine dose, frequency of inoculation, and need for adjuvants. In contrast, antiviral drugs, particularly the neuraminidase inhibitors, will be effective for treatment and available if stockpiling takes place. Special questions need to be answered if a highly lethal virus, such as influenza A (H5N1), produces the pandemic. Both vaccines and antiviral drugs will be required for a coordinated strategy.

Critics are calling it a two-tier health system - one for the politically well connected, another for the hoi polloi. As Germany launched its mass-vaccination program against the H1N1 flu virus on Monday, the government found itself fending off accusations of favoritism because it was offering one vaccine believed to have fewer side effects to civil servants, politicians and soldiers, and another, potentially riskier vaccine to everyone else.

-Germany ordered 50 million doses of vaccination for the general public -The "good" medicine, ordered for the high officials, was created by a U.S. pharmaceutical giant Baxter and is said to have less side affects due to in not containing an adjuvant. -Pandemrix, the gereral publics vaccine, cant be used in pregnant woman and small children due to the increased risk of side effects -Germany ordered over 200,000 doses of Celvapan, the "good" medicine - 26000 people in Germany had been infected with H1N1 resulting in 3 dealths