Question

After the COVID-19 pandemic ends, do you think the way in which society approaches issues such as healthcare will shift?

Answer 1

Ans) A novel influenza (flu) virus is an influenza A virus that has caused human infection and which is different from current human seasonal influenza A viruses. Any novel influenza A virus, such as those of avian or swine origin, has the potential to cause an influenza pandemic.

- Some novel flu A viruses are believed to pose a greater pandemic threat and are more concerning to public health officials than others because they have already caused serious human illness and death and also have been able to spread in a limited manner from person to person.

- Novel influenza A viruses are of extra concern because of the potential impact they could have on public health if they gained the ability to spread from person-to-person easily and thus trigger an influenza pandemic. Examples of novel influenza A viruses of extra concern because of their potential to cause a severe pandemic include avian influenza A (H5N1) and avian influenza A (H7N9) viruses.

- These two different avian influenza A viruses have caused sporadic human infections, some limited person to person spread and resulted in critical illness and death in people.

- Influenza viruses that normally circulate in pigs also have infected people; these viruses include influenza A (H1N1v), (H1N2v) and (H3N2v). When influenza viruses that normally circulate in swine are found in people, they are called “variant” viruses; the “v” after the virus name indicates a variant virus. Limited, unsustained spread from person to person also has been detected with these viruses, but in general, these variant viruses have been associated with less severe illness and fewer deaths than avian influenza viruses. In general, human infections with H5N1, H7N9, H1N1v, H1N2v and H3N2v viruses have occurred rarely, but if these viruses were to change in such a way that they were able to infect humans easily and spread from person to person in a sustained manner, a flu pandemic could result.