The world is watching the avian H5N1 virus very closely because there is a fear that the virus will mutate; creating a new virus that spreads easily from human to human. This human to human transmission could start a pandemic, making millions of people very sick very quickly.

The last major pandemic occurred between September 1968 and March 1969. The "Hong Kong flu" took over 33,000 lives world-wide; however it was the mildest pandemic of the 20th century. In 1918 and 1919 the "Spanish flu" killed approximately 30 million people world-wide. The reason for the severity of the "Spanish flu" is unknown, however many people died of secondary infections such as pneumonia. In 1918 antibiotics did not exist to treat those secondary infections.

It is not known if or when the H5N1 virus will mutate. However, the Windsor-Essex County Health Unit and its community partners are working together to ensure we are able to protect and care for the residents of Windsor and Essex County if pandemic influenza surfaces in North America.

Dr. G. Allen Heimann,
Medical Officer of Health for Windsor-Essex County