Coronaviruses are zoonotic (Can transmit from animals to humans) in origin. Both Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Middle-East Respiratory Syndrome are placed under the category of zoonotic viral diseases. This indicates that the first individual acquired this viral infection directly from animals. Snakes have been suggested as a host or intermediate host, but it is now clear that it also spread from individual to individual as well.
A flu pandemic emerges whenever a new flu virus, distinct from seasonal flu viruses, appears and spreads rapidly among people, causing illness worldwide. For most people, immunity to the pandemic flu virus is insufficient. Pandemic flu can be more severe than seasonal flu, causing more deaths. Because it’s a new virus, there might not be a vaccine available immediately. Thus a pandemic could overwhelm normal operations in schools, workplaces, and other settings of the community.
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