4/27 Media Alert: Updated with 20th Pandemics and Expanded Pandemic Phases.
For Immediate Release
1.925.367.7557 Phone
pjjp@post.harvard.edu email
Words of the Pandemic that You Need to Know
Glossary Updated Daily
Austin, TX. April 27, 2009. (Updated) The ‘Words of the Pandemic’ glossary has been released by the Global Language Monitor.
The “Words of the Pandemic” explainer will be continuously updated. To see the latest updates, go to the Pandemic Explainer.
“As with other global and significant events, GLM has assembled ‘The Words of the Pandemic’ explainer, a glossary of the essential terms the educated layperson needs to know to better understand the significance of the potential Swine Flu pandemic as it unfolds.” said Paul JJ Payack, President and Chief Word Analyst of the Global Language Monitor.
Below is the current list of defined terms.
Term Definition
20th Century Pandemics
1917 Pandemic — The “Spanish Flu”. 50 million or more died in the 1918 pandemic, up to 200,000 in the US. Some 30% of the world’s population of 1.5 billion were infected.
1957 Pandemic — The “Asian Flu” originated in China. It had two major waves killing some 2 million people.
1968 Pandemic — The “Hong Kong Flu” spread globally for two years resulting in about 1 million deaths.
CDC — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the CDC is part of the US Department of Health and Human Services.
Epidemic — A disease occurring suddenly in humans in a community, region or country in numbers clearly in excess of normal.
Ground Zero — The location where the first case occurred.
H1N1 — The current strain of H1N1 consists of genes already found in existing variations of swine, avian and human flu viruses.
Influenza — A serious disease caused by viruses that infects the upper respiratory tract.
Influenza Pandemic — A global outbreak of a new influenza ‘A’ virus that is easily transmitted from person-to-person worldwide.
Mutating Virus — In general, any flu virus mutates and evolves mechanisms that enable it to escape the immune defence systems of its victims.
Pandemic — The global outbreak of a disease in humans in numbers clearly in excess of normal.
Pandemic Phases — WHO has divided pandemics into six phases. (See Figure.)
Pandemic Phase 1 — Low risk of human cases. No viruses circulating among animals have been reported to cause infections in humans.
Pandemic Phase 2 — Higher risk of human cases. An animal influenza virus circulating among domesticated or wild animals is known to have caused infection in humans, and is therefore considered a potential pandemic threat.
Pandemic Phase 3 — No or very limited human-to-human transmission. An animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus has caused sporadic cases or small clusters of disease in people, but has not resulted in human-to-human transmission sufficient to sustain community-level outbreaks. Limited human-to-human transmission may occur under some circumstances, for example, when there is close contact between an infected person and an unprotected caregiver. However, limited transmission under such restricted circumstances does not indicate that the virus has gained the level of transmissibility among humans necessary to cause a pandemic.
Pandemic Phase 4 — Evidence of increased human-to-human transmission. Human-to-human transmission of an animal or human-animal influenza reassortant virus able to cause “community-level outbreaks.” The ability to cause sustained disease outbreaks in a community marks a significant upwards shift in the risk for a pandemic. Any country that suspects or has verified such an event should urgently consult with WHO so that the situation can be jointly assessed and a decision made by the affected country if implementation of a rapid pandemic containment operation is warranted. Phase 4 indicates a significant increase in risk of a pandemic.
Pandemic Phase 5 — Evidence of significant human-to-human transmission. Human-to-human spread of the virus into at least two countries in one WHO region (Figure 4). While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
Pandemic Phase 6 — Efficient and sustained human-to-human transmission. The pandemic phase, is characterized by community level outbreaks in at least one other country in a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined in Phase 5. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global pandemic is under way.
Spanish Flu — Another name for the 1918 pandemic
Swine Flu — Officially named swine influenza A (H1N1)
Symptoms — Body aches, fever, headaches, sore throat, body pain, chills and fatigue. Sometimes diarhea and vomiting.
Tamiflu — Tamiflu has been stockpiled by Homeland Security in the US. For optimum efficacy, infected individuals should take it as early as possible. It lessons the symptons but is not a cure for Swine Flu.
WHO — Located in Geneva, Switzerland, the World Health Organization, is the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations system.
About The Global Language Monitor
Austin-Texas-based Global Language Monitor analyzes and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices, and their impact on the various aspects of culture, with a particular emphasis upon Global English. For more information, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, visit www.LanguageMonitor.com, or call +1.925.367.7557.
About The Global Language Monitor
Austin-Texas-based Global Language Monitor analyzes and catalogues the latest trends in word usage and word choices, and their impact on the various aspects of culture, with a particular emphasis upon Global English. For more information, email info@LanguageMonitor.com, visit www.LanguageMonitor.com, or call +1.925.367.7557.
