Recently, increases in cases of avian flu in both humans and animals have raised concern about the threat of another flu pandemic.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) characterizes a flu pandemic as the emergence of a virus for which most people have little or no immunity, causes serious illness, and then spreads easily person-to-person worldwide.The CDC states that a pandemic may come and go in waves (lasting 6–8 weeks each—perhaps longer), which could lead to high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss. The death toll of the 1968–1969 flu pandemic was more than 700,000 worldwide.
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