Guardian Unlimited | Special reports | Flu pandemic ‘could hit 20% of world’s population’

A global taskforce should be urgently formed to tackle a potential influenza pandemic that could affect 20% of the world’s population, trigger economic disaster and kill millions, experts warned today.A report in scientific journal Nature gives a fearful assessment of the huge impact a pandemic could have on the world, with an estimate that more than seven million people could die in the first few months. A pandemic would change the world “overnight” and could be worse than previous outbreaks because of the greater interlinked nature of modern life, experts told Nature.

It seems inevitable that there will be some sort of pandemic disease that will hit the world sooner or later… perhaps within the next decade. Whether it’s avian flu or something else, nobody knows. Experts keep warning about it, but what is an individual person to do about it? The only thing I can think of is to try to keep as fit as possible to increase general resistance to flu. An unpleasant subject matter, but a very real threat, I’m afraid.

I just read on Helsingin Sanomat that the government here is already preparing priorization lists for people who will get vaccinated first in the highly likely case that the vaccine will be in short supply. Finnish government is paying a flat annual fee for a place in line for the vaccine, which will likely take months to develop after the outbreak.

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