Pandemic Influenza Resource Center

As the U.S. Government prepares for the possibility of a pandemic influenza outbreak, the nation's emergency services and citizens should also be planning for the worst. Unlike an epidemic, in which a rapidly spreading contagious disease affects many people in a community or region, a pandemic is a global outbreak of a contagious disease. An influenza pandemic occurs when a new influenza virus emerges for which people have little or no immunity and no developed vaccine. Since the disease is easily spread from person to person, it can sweep across a country and even the world in a very short time.

 

Recognizing the potentially tragic impact an influenza pandemic could have on our nation's fire and emergency service responders, Fire Corps, its partners, and members of its National Advisory Committee have worked hard to generate awareness not just among fire and emergency service personnel, but also among the thousands of Fire Corps volunteers that support them every day. In doing so, Fire Corps has launched this Pandemic Influenza Resource Center in order to provide links to key information resources such as pandemicflu.gov, as well as information on how Fire Corps volunteers can help.