Whats pandemic flu?
A pandemic occurs when a disease spreads rapidly, affecting most countries and regions of the world. Flu pandemics have occurred periodically throughout human history including a major pandemic in 1918, and smaller pandemics in 1957 and 1968. The symptoms of pandemic flu are similar to those of seasonal flu but are usually more severe. ^ top of page What s the difference between pandemic flu and bird flu? Pandemic flu is a global outbreak of a new flu virus that few, if any people will have immunity. Bird flu or H5N1 is a flu virus circulating in Southeast Asia, Europe and now Africa, that usually affects birds but also has infected people. Those people became extremely sick or died.