## Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

## Overview

## Pandemic Influenza Preparedness

## Pandemic Influenza

A pandemic influenza occurs when a new type of influenza virus emerges for which humans have little or no immunity, which allows the virus to easily spread person to person worldwide and cause a global outbreak as it differs from an annual influenza epidemic. In recent year, a highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N1) that can be transmitted from birds to humans has sporadically emerged, mainly in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. If the virus mutates into a form spreading among humans, it could have a serious impact on people's lives and health, and thus people's daily lives and the national economy. The government is therefore taking the following pandemic preparedness and response measures.

(Assumptions made in the national action plan)

Number of patients consulting medical institutions	Approx. 13-25 million
Number of hospitalized patients	Approx. 0.53-2 million
Number of fatalities	Approx. 0.17 - 0.64 million

Major events

Dec. 2005	Formulation of the “National Action Plan for Pandemic Influenza” (Liaison Conference of the Relevant Ministries and Agencies on Avian Influenza, etc.)
May 2008	Amendment of the Act on Infectious Disease Control and the Act on Quarantine (Legislative preparation by categorizing a new or re-emerging influenza as "pandemic influenza" to legally conduct hospitalization and quarantine at the ports of entry. In addition, influenza H5N1 transmitted from birds to humans was categorized as the infectious disease category 2 “avian influenza (H5N1)” in the Act on Infectious Diseases Control)
Feb. 2009	Amendment of the “National Action Plan for Pandemic Influenza” (Liaison Conference of the Relevant Ministries and Agencies on Pandemic and Avian Influenza) followed by the amendment of the Act on Infectious Diseases Control
Apr. 2009	Emergence of Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09
Mar. 2011	The announcement was made in March that it is no longer recognized as “a new or reemerging influenza strain, or a designated infectious disease” as stipulated in the Act on Infectious Disease Control as of March 31, and measures were switched to those for seasonal influenza
July 2011	Amendment of the Act on Preventive Vaccinations (providing new temporary vaccinations framework based on the assumption of Pandemic influenza that had the same level of high transmissibility as the influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 but not highly pathogenic)
Sep. 2011	Revision of the “National Action Plan for Pandemic Influenza” (Ministerial Meeting on Countermeasures against Pandemic Influenza) followed by the experiences of influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, etc.
Apr. 2012	Approval of the “Act on Special Measures for Pandemic Influenza and New Infectious Diseases Preparedness and Response” (Legal countermeasures when a pandemic influenza and new infectious disease emerged)

Major budgetary projects

Capacity development in medical institutions of novel influenza	Capacity building in necessary beds and medical resources at medical institutions designated by local governments to accept pandemic influenza patients
Public communications of preparedness against pandemic influenza	Public communications for individuals, families and workplaces. Information sharing with medical institutions through mail magazines
Stockpiles of antiviral drugs	National and local stockpiles for a total use of approx. 60 million people by FY2012
Stockpiles of H5N1 pre-pandemic vaccine	As of the end of FY2012, Vietnam and Indonesia strains (produced in FY2010) for approx. 10 million people and Qinghai strain (produced in FY2012) for approx. 10 million people had been stockpiled
Capacity development for pandemic influenza vaccine	Development of capacity to develop pandemic influenza vaccine by cell culture technology for the whole population within 6 months