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PANDEMIC
Kenia Lopez

Peer review reflection: I took into consideration my peer's suggestions and split my phases into

smaller sections so they won't be cluttered and rephrased some sentences they pointed out that

were confusing or too wordy. We can see that in explaining why a pandemic is hard to control.

Also, I explained what my image is portraying and added peer-reviewed sources.

A pandemic is a widespread infectious disease within a community, spreading to large

regions worldwide, all occurring at the same time, the number of infected people is not stable.

Most confuse epidemic and pandemic, but an epidemic is a widespread infectious disease within

a community occurring simultaneously just with stable numbers and not being global. There are

stages to track the progress of the pandemic, and there is management that works to contain the

outbreak. Pandemics have always occurred, and we are experiencing the COVID-19 pandemic.

Table of Contents

1) Pandemic

2) Stages

3) Control

4) Post-Peak

5) Post-Pandemic

6) Current Pandemic

7) Works Cited
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Stages

A pandemic has different stages of tracking how the pandemic is doing. The World

Health Organization (WHO) uses a six-phased approach to describe and apply new approaches

on how a virus moves, leading to a pandemic [1]. The first three phases, 1-3, correspond with

preparedness in the pre-pandemic interval. While the following three phases, 4-6, evidently cue

for the need of relief and action, all during the pandemic.

Phase 1

In the first phase, no virus in animals is said to be causing infections/disease to humans

[1].

Phase 2

In phase two, there is a known animal virus to have caused infections/disease to humans

and for that reason it poses a threat of a pandemic [1].

Phase 3

In phase three, the known animal virus has created mini groups of infected people,

enough to be sustained in their communities. The virus has yet to be human-to-human

transmission therefore it is an epidemic [1].

Phase 4

During the pandemic interval, phase four is distinguished by the sustainable transmission

of disease to be human-to-human of the animal virus. This signifies the risk of a pandemic [1].

In other words, phase four hints that there may be a pandemic but there is no certain "yes" of a

pandemic yet since transmission is being sustained.

Phase 5
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There is human to human spread of the virus into two other countries.. Though most

countries will not be affected, it gives a strong indicator that a pandemic might occur and the

relief plans are not working [1].

Phase 6

In phase six, there are community-level outbreaks in other countries outside the ones

experiencing the outbreaks. This will point out that a global pandemic is occurring [1].

*Figure 1. The graphic demonstrates a timeline of how each phase progresses. Pandemic

influenza preparedness and response a WHO guidance document.(2009). World Health

Organization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143061/

Control

A pandemic can be very challenging to control. Controlling a pandemic is reducing the

spread of the disease. The best strategies to help control are containment and mitigation.

Containment can be used in the early stages, while mitigation is used to alleviate current events.

Containment
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Containment is the act of keeping something within limits. Containment can be put into

action in the earlier stages of an outbreak. For example, isolating those who are infected from the

public. To help diminish the spread of the disease. Another method used is the tracing of who

may have contact with the infected individual, which is called "contact tracing" and testing them

for infection. Other types of control are the usage of vaccinations if available. When the

containment is no longer available to reach, then the process is moved to mitigation.

Mitigation

Mitigation is the action of reducing the severity of something. The goal is to decrease the

numbers of those who are infected to relieve stress from the healthcare system and the society

[2]. Once a pandemic has started, a response should be applied, focusing on situational

awareness, public health messaging, and reducing transmission and care for and treating the ill

[2]. The main goal of control is to flatten the curve and decrease the epidemic peak. It aids to

decrease the risk of overwhelmed health services and provides an increased time for a vaccine to

be made or treatment.

*Figure 2. The graphic demonstrates the cases in the world. The yellow circles represent

the infected people. Shah, D. (2022). How can the world adapt to covid-19 in the long term?:
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News. Wellcome.

https://wellcome.org/news/how-can-world-adapt-covid-19-long-term-endemic#gid=ab18&pid=0

[7].

Post-Peak

Post-peak is when infection rates drop, but it is not certain that they will keep dropping, so

countries have to construct a plan if a second wave occurs. Former pandemics have experienced

multiple waves, and in some cases, the second wave is larger. For example, the (H1N1) influenza

pandemic experienced a larger second wave in 2009 [3].

Post-Pandemic

Post-pandemic is when infection rates are or have returned to regular rates. Its approach is meant

to evaluate response, revise plans, and recover [1]. An example of a post-pandemic approach is

the (H1N1) influenza virus. It was expected to be around as a seasonal virus for some years.

Even though rates have gone back to normal, vigilance is critical in the post-pandemic phase

since the (H1N1) influenza virus is not predictable [4].

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* Figure 3 demonstrates the timeline of what occurs after the pandemic stage. Pandemic

influenza preparedness and response a WHO guidance document.(2009). World Health

Organization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143061/

Current Pandemic

A current pandemic that we are experiencing is the COVID-19 pandemic. A new strain of

coronavirus was detected in China, where a group of patients experienced shortness of breath

and fever. On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) affirmed COVID-19 a

pandemic [5]. A usage of mitigation to reduce the number of infected people and the time for a

vaccine to be developed was the CDC announcing guidelines and recommendations of using face

masks when outside of their home [5]. This helped reduce rates and had enough time for three

vaccines to be created. An example of how containment was used in the early stages was South

Korea testing about 10,000 people on a daily basis, contact tracing, and quarantine. Since then,

they have had no more than 53 new cases daily [6]. The COVID-19 pandemic has experienced

phases 1-6, post-peak, and hopes to reach post-pandemic soon.

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Works Cited

1) Pandemic influenza preparedness and response a WHO guidance document.(2009).

World Health Organization. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK143061/

2) Jamison. (2018). Disease control priorities. Volume 9 : Improving health and reducing

poverty (Third edition.). World Bank Group.

3) Helferty, Vachon, J., Tarasuk, J., Rodin, R., Spika, J., & Pelletier, L. (2010). Incidence of

hospital admissions and severe outcomes during the first and second waves of pandemic

(H1N1) 2009. Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), 182(18), 1981–1987.

https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.100746

4) Leite, P. (n.d.). PAHO/WHO: 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic - who recommendations for the

post-pandemic period. Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization.

https://www3.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3328%3A2

009-h1n1-influenza-pandemic-who-recommendations-for-the-post-pandemic-period&Ite

mid=569&lang=en

5) CDC Museum COVID-19 Timeline

6) Walensky, & del Rio, C. (2020). From mitigation to containment of the COVID-19 pandemic:

Putting the SARS-CoV-2 genie back in the bottle. JAMA : The Journal of the American

Medical Association, 323(19), 1889–1890. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2020.6572

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7) Shah, D. (2022). How can the world adapt to covid-19 in the long term?: News. Wellcome.

https://wellcome.org/news/how-can-world-adapt-covid-19-long-term-endemic#gid=ab18

&pid=0