U.S. health officials and their colleagues from other large nations will
join representatives of 16 vaccine companies on Nov. 11 for a summit in Geneva, Switzerland on a potential flu pandemic.

The influenza chief of the United Nations' health agency, the World Health Organization, told the American Society for Microbiology meeting in Washington that the world is closer than ever to a pandemic.

He said the bird flu is becoming established in Asia, and
several worrisome human cases can't be linked directly to exposure
to infected poultry.

Flu kills about 36,000 in the U.S. and one million worldwide each year.

Tens of millions die in a pandemic, which occurs every 20 to 30 years.

The pandemic develops when a flu strain changes so dramatically that people have little immunity from previous exposure.

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Click Here For Information About the Flu Vaaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Click Here For Immunization Information from the Texas Department of Health