Zombies. If you believe pop culture, the next big health crisis facing the united states is a zombie apocalypse. Of course, we’re more susceptible to common threats such as influenza, E. coli, smallpox and malaria carried by those we meet, the water we drink and pesky insects … but taking a few simple steps can help keep you and your family healthy.

2013 flu epidemic

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this past winter brought about the earliest influenza outbreak the U.S. has faced in nearly a decade. Flu season typically runs from October until March, with the highest number of cases occurring in January or February. At its peak, the CDC reported that 47 states experienced widespread geographic flu activity. In short, it was a national epidemic. There are special groups that are more at risk of suffering the effects of the flu or other communicable diseases.

CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden says this group includes “frail, elderly people who may have had cancer or chemotherapy, or people who may have weakened immune systems or are on medication such as long-term oral steroids that can also weaken the immune system. The irony is that these people are far less likely to get the benefit of vaccines available to combat these diseases, as well.”

The flu varies wildly from year to year, which is why new vaccines are available each season. But few variations have raised as much concern as the outbreak of H1N1, also known as the swine flu, in April of 2009.

At the time, the CDC and other global health organizations were preparing and responding to the possible spread of H5N1, the bird flu. But H1N1 proved a more aggressive strain, and within the span of a year, the CDC estimates that between 43 million and 89 million cases of 2009 H1N1 occurred in the U.S. alone.

H1N1 quickly became a pandemic, meaning that multiple countries were at risk of contracting the disease.The rules of what qualifies as a pandemic are similar to those of an epidemic—the spread of the disease and the number of deaths it causes. The CDC issued travel health warnings to help limit the propagation, encouraging U.S. citizens to delay travel to multiple countries.

Once the widespread H1N1 activity in the U.S. began to wane, the CDC estimates that between 8,870 to 18,300 people died of the virus. Flu vaccines in the U.S. were quickly developed to combat the spread of the virus.

Variations of 2009 H1 flu continue to circulate, but Dr. Joe Breese of the CDC indicates that the numbers in the U.S. remain low. “We’re not seeing much of the 2009 H1 virus yet so far this year, though it should be said that Europe and other places in the world are,” he says. “We know that influenza viruses in a given country, in a given city, in a given region will vary from year to year and … Read the rest

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