What would be the Impact of a flu Pandemic?

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sattarsoul	You're talking about bird flu, right? It wouldn't be that bad for the United States and most developed regions, like the European Union because these countries have effective containment methods... but that cannot be said for the developing countries. Its going to get really messy for them. Millions could die, especially in Africa and South Asian countries where vaccines (if developed at the time) won't be able to get to people in time to save their lives. Lets pray it doesn't happen.

elite	sales of kleenex tissues would rise

amberpatience	Lets see. It would be very expensive - people missing work, cost of health etc. People would be ill, and many peple would die. Which is why we try to prevent them.

randolph	Even more money will be made in the medicine business.

chevy87fanatic	everyone will die

nc97	A whole great big bunch of people would get pretty sick

gladerade	The impact would be huge and spread far beyond 100s of thousands of people just being sick and/or dying. In attempts to stop the spread of the flu, schools and businesses would close as people began to stay home in attempts to isolate themselves and not get sick. That means no production, no shopping and no spending and the economy takes a big hit. And with many people staying in and businesses closed, you can count on a certain part of the population trying to take advantage and risking illness to loot, leading to massive insurance claims by businesses and shortages of key items as people begin to emerge from their exiles (be they self-imposed or government imposed). All-in-all, it will be one big mess.