Pandemic influenza: a threat that all countries need to prepare for
Influenza is a highly infectious respiratory virus. Annual epidemics of seasonal influenza cause up to 650 000 deaths globally, and up to 72 000 of these occur in the European Region, mainly in persons at higher risk of severe disease, including elderly persons, persons with chronic heart or lung diseases, children under the age of 5 years and pregnant women. A new influenza virus emerges periodically that no one in the world is immune to. This virus can cause severe illness among millions of people on every continent. It is known as pandemic influenza.
The great influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people in a few months than the First World War (1914–1918). The final death toll worldwide is put in the region of 50 million. The other two influenza pandemics of the 20th century (in 1957 and 1968) each killed upwards of one million people. The 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic is estimated to have caused up to 575 000 deaths, not only among those at a higher risk of complications, but also in otherwise healthy individuals.
Is the European Region ready to respond to next influenza pandemic?
Given the scale of threat, and the fact all countries are equally vulnerable, Pandemic Influenza Preparedness should be a priority for all Member States. However, the International Health Regulations (IHR) Review Committee declared in 2011 that “the world is ill-prepared to respond to a severe influenza pandemic or to any similarly global, sustained and threatening public-health emergency”.
At the start of 2019 fewer than 1 in 3 countries in the European Region had revised their pandemic influenza plans since the 2009 pandemic. In addition, influenza vaccination uptake has been steadily declining in a number of countries, and access to influenza vaccines remains low in lower-resourced countries. Not only is this a concern for the protection of vulnerable groups against seasonal influenza, but it also affects the Region’s pandemic preparedness as the production of pandemic vaccines is closely linked to seasonal vaccine use.
Strengthening influenza preparedness is a major public health opportunity in the European Region. Countries can prepare by revising and updating their Pandemic Influenza Preparedness plans in line with the latest WHO guidance, and by increasing uptake of seasonal influenza vaccine in persons most in need.
The WHO Regional Office for Europe assists countries to revise pandemic plans and is implementing the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) framework. This global initiative, involving governments, WHO, industry and other stakeholders seeks:
- to improve the sharing of influenza viruses with human pandemic potential; and
- to achieve more equitable access for countries in need of the pandemic vaccines and medicines used in a pandemic.
