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WHAT IS AN INFLUENZA PANDEMIC?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), an influenza pandemic occurs when three conditions are met: (1) a new influenza virus emerges, (2) humans become infected causing serious illness and (3) spreading occurs as easily as with normal influenza (i.e. by coughing and sneezing). Because the virus is new, the human immune system will have no pre-existing immunity, making it more likely that people who contract it will experience more serious disease than that caused by the normal flu.1
PANDEMIC OR SEASONAL OUTBREAK?
Seasonal outbreaks of influenza are caused by virus subtypes that already circulate among people. Pandemic outbreaks are caused by subtypes that have either never before circulated among people or have not circulated among people for a long time.
WHAT IS AVIAN INFLUENZA?
Avian influenza ("bird flu") refers to a large group of different influenza viruses that primarily affect birds and sometimes other species including humans. Health Canada warns that it is important not to confuse human cases of avian influenza with cases of human influenza, but recognizes that people can contract avian influenza. At this time, the exact mode of transmission from birds to humans is not known.2
To date there have been reported cases of avian influenza A (the H5N1 strain) in Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Indonesia, China, Turkey, Iraq and Azerbaijan.
WHY SHOULD CANADIAN RETAILERS BE CONCERNED?
Health experts say that it is not a matter of "if" avian influenza comes to Canada, but "when." When an outbreak does occur, it will have a significant impact on Canadian retailers — your staff, your customers, your supply chain and the entire economy.
The H5N1 strain has met the first two conditions necessary for a pandemic. WHO advises that there is cause for concern because ducks are now "silent" reservoirs of the virus, excreting the virus without showing signs of illness; current H5N1 viruses are more lethal and survive longer in the environment; and the H5N1 virus appears to have expanded its range, infecting and killing mammals previously considered resistant to infection.
If an avian pandemic occurs, most people will have no immunity to the virus. While some clinical trials are underway to test whether experimental vaccines will be fully protective, no vaccines are expected to be widely available until several months after the start of a pandemic. In short, an avian pandemic means higher rates of illness among the population. For retailers, this means higher rates of worker absenteeism and likely fewer customers.
1 "Ten things you need to know about pandemic influenza," World Health Organization
2 Health Canada Web site: www.hc-sc.gc.ca