|
|
Article: Preparing for a pandemic: public health experts say the occurrence of another worldwide influenza outbreak is not in doubt. Internal auditors need to help ensure organizations have a plan in place to deal with such an eventuality.
- Article from:
- Internal Auditor
- Article date:
- June 1, 2007
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2007 Institute of Internal Auditors, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
IN SLIGHTLY MORE THAN A CENTURY, the world has experienced four influenza pandemics. The most severe was the 1918 pandemic, with as many as 50 million deaths reported worldwide. In the United States alone, it is estimated that 25 percent of the population was infected, and more than 650,000 people died. The world population at the time was 1.75 billion; today it has grown to more than 6 billion.
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
There is every reason to assume such events will surface again; only their timing and severity are unknown (see "Past Pandemics," this page). Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers a particular strain of influenza virus, ...