ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, December 14, 1995 TAG: 9512140062
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-11 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: BETHESDA, MD.
SOURCE: Associated Press
REMEMBER THE HONG KONG FLU? Well, experts say we may be ripe for another worldwide flu epidemic.
The planet may be overdue for a new worldwide epidemic of influenza, one of humanity's oldest and deadliest disease enemies, international experts said at a conference here Wednesday.
More than 200 infectious-disease experts met this week to consider how they should prepare for what some believe is the inevitable rise of a new and lethal influenza virus.
``A new pandemic is possible,'' said Dr. Dominick Iacuzio of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. ``We can't lose sight of the fact that influenza agents have the potential to cause a lot of morbidity and mortality. It has happened before, and it can happen again.''
The last major worldwide flu epidemic was in 1968, the so-called ``Hong Kong flu,'' and new strains of the flu virus typically rise and sweep through the international population every 10 to 40 years.
From the perspective of history, said Iacuzio, ``some experts say we are overdue.''
The influenza virus regularly and rapidly rearranges its gene structure. Every now and then, a viral strain develops that humans have never before been exposed to, which can be the start of a pandemic, said Iacuzio.
Between 1918 and 1919, a new viral strain infected more than 2 billion people and killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million, more than a half-million in the United States.
The ``Asian flu'' in 1957 also was new. It quickly circled the globe, causing widespread social disruption and at least 750,000 deaths in the United States.
Iacuzio said a formal report is still being prepared, but these findings will be among the conclusions, he said:
Increased surveillance efforts, particularly in remote Asian areas, are needed for early detection of new flu viral strains.
More research is needed to understand the response of the human body to the virus.
Some experts believe the concentration of proteins used in the flu vaccine may be reduced, thus making more vaccine doses available.
LENGTH: Medium: 53 linesby CNB