The World Health Organization has urged countries to strengthen their flu control as another influenza pandemic is ‘inevitable’.
The WHO has launched a global strategy in hope of reducing the impact seasonal outbreaks have.
Alongside a raft of measures, it said a bigger uptake of flu vaccines is vital because the cost of treating flu is far greater.
The WHO described influenza as one of the biggest public health challenges and experts have said it is a larger threat than terrorism or cyber-attacks.
The World Health Organization has urged countries to strengthen their flu control and prevention as another influenza pandemic is ‘inevitable’
‘The question is not if we will have another pandemic, but when,’ said WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
‘The threat of pandemic influenza is ever-present. We must be vigilant and prepared – the cost of a major influenza outbreak will far outweigh the price of prevention’.
Influenza epidemics affect around one billion people and kill hundreds of thousands annually, according to WHO.
The estimated toll of up to 50 million deaths in the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 exceeded that of the First World War.
Subsequent pandemics have killed millions globally, occurring in 1957–1958, 1968–1969 and 2009–2010.
The most recent flu pandemic infected an estimated one in five people worldwide and killed between 100,000 to 400,000 people.
Fears of a flu pandemic have mounted following the worst outbreak in recent years that rocked the UK, Australia and the US in 2017-2018.
The WHO warned: ‘The next pandemic will spread further and faster, and could lead to significant disruptions.’
There has been significant progress since the first pandemic, including the development of influenza vaccines, antiviral drugs and better diagnostics.
Vaccines are recommended as the best protection – although they aren’t 100 per cent effective, especially for the most vulnerable people.
‘The cost of a major influenza outbreak will far outweigh the price of prevention,’ Dr Tedros said.
Preparations for an epidemic is estimated to cost less than $1 (76p) per person per year, but responding to a pandemic costs roughly 100 times that amount, the WHO said.
The WHO warned that despite significant medical advances over the past 100 years, there will still be populations that have limited access to care and would be ‘likely to experience high mortality rates during a pandemic’.
The strategy for 2019-2030 has two main goals based on the most urgent challenges.
The first is to improve worldwide capacities for surveillance and response – the WHO has urged all governments to develop a national flu plan.
The second is to develop better tools to prevent, detect, control and treat influenza, such as more effective vaccines, antivirals and treatments, with the goal of making these accessible for all countries.
‘There is an urgent need for better tools to prevent, detect, control and treat influenza,’ the report said, ‘including more effective vaccines and antiviral drugs that would instil public confidence and uptake.’
The influenza virus is constantly changing, with multiple strains, and within them multiple types which keep mutating.
This makes it difficult for scientists to develop an effective vaccine ahead of the flu season.
Last year’s final figures for the whole 2017/18 flu season showed the vaccine was just 15 per cent effective across all age groups.
For the latest flu season, a new ‘booster’ vaccine was brought in to improve the effectiveness among the over-65s.
‘With the partnerships and country-specific work we have been doing over the years, the world is better prepared than ever before for the next big outbreak, but we are still not prepared enough,’ said Dr Tedros.