Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic where the incidence of disease extends to a whole country
or large part of the world. Pandemics are generally the result of the antigenic shift process in which new antigens are produced by the microorganism (Cinti, 2005). It
can take several weeks for the immune system to develop a primary response to such
situations. During this period the severity of complications in such infected populations
will be worse. The key public health response to such pandemic challenges includes
the development of a vaccine, which can also take some time. The strategies
adopted in an epidemic are different from that of pandemics because vaccines are not
readily available. Chemoprophylaxis and infection control practices such as hand
washing, isolation, and quarantine are the immediate measures taken. When the vaccine
is made available, mass vaccination is preferred. A strong political commitment is
needed for such public health actions to meet the challenge. Long-term commitment
and strategy depend on the information gathered from public health surveillance (Osterholm,
2005)