Resolution_2025 Kittitas County Hazard Mitigation Plan

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2025 Hazard Mitigation Plan Kittitas County, Washington Chapter 4: Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment 213 Event Summary The Flu Pandemic (1889 – 1890) Also known as the “Russian Flu”, is considered the first pandemic of the industrial era. It started in Turkestan and hit the Russian Empire before spreading worldwide. The disease was highly contagious with attack rates averaging 60% in urban populations, and its rapid spread in successive waves worldwide in a few months by rail and sea. Additionally, the disease tended to relapse. Despite its mortality rate being low (0.10% to 0.28%) it is estimated that one (1) million people died. It was identified that the agent responsible was Myxovirus influenzae which is the virus identified for all influenza pandemics since the “Spanish Flu” of 1918.279F 280 1918 Flu Pandemic (1918 – 1920) Also known as the “Spanish Flu”, was the most severe pandemic in recent history. There is no consensus of where it originated, but it spread worldwide between 1918 and 1919. It was first identified in the United States in military personnel during the Spri ng of 1918. The disease was caused by an H1N1 virus with genes of avian origin. A unique feature of this Pandemic was the high mortality rate in healthy people, including individuals between 20 and 40 years old. It is estimated that 500 million people (one-third of the world’s population) were infected with the virus and the number of deaths was estimated to be approximately 50 million worldwide; 675,000 occurring in the United States.280F 281 HIV/AIDS (1981 – Present) Although the virus likely entered the United States in the 1960s, the human immunodeficiency virus infection/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) rose to prominence in the early 1980s. HIV is the world’s leading infectious killer and has claimed over 40 million lives as of 2023.281F 282 The pandemic has infection rates as high as 25% in the hardest hit countries, with 95% of new infections coming from low and middle-income countries, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa. Although there is still no cure, antiretroviral drugs have been able to improve the quality of life for those with HIV infections, and AIDS- related deaths have been reduced by 69% since the peak in 2004.282F 283 Avian Influenza (1996) The Avian Type A viruses (bird flu viruses) do not typically infect humans, but it has occurred. The first H5N1 bird flu virus was detected in 1996 in domestic waterfowl in Southern China. In 1997, an H5N1 poultry outbreak occurred in China and Hong Kong w ith 18 associated human cases, including six (6) deaths. The virus caused 860 human infections with a mortality rate of 50%. Between 2003 – 2005, the virus re-emerges in China and several countries, including widespread poultry outbreaks across Asia. Wild birds spread the virus to poultry in Africa, the Middle East, and Europe in 2005. The virus continued to spread around the world and as it spreads it continued to mutate (i.e., H5N6 and H5N8).283F 284 The first case of the H5N1 virus in a person in the United States was reported on April 28, 2022. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Outbreak (2002 – 2004) Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness caused by a coronavirus, SARS-associated coronavirus (SARS-CoV). The first SARS case was reported in Asia in February 2003. Over the next months, the illness began to spread to more th an two (2) dozen countries in North America, South America, Europe, and Asia before the outbreak was contained. A total 8,098 people worldwide contracted the virus and 774 died. In the United States, only eight (8) tested positive for SARS-CoV and all cases were travel related. There have been no cases of SARS reported anywhere in the world since 2004.284F 285 280 Berche, P. (2022). The Enigma of the 1889 Russian flu Pandemic: A Coronavirus? Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8813723/. 281 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2018). History of 1918 Flu Pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/1918-commemoration/1918-pandemic-history.htm. 282 Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. (n.d.). Global HIV & AIDS statistics – Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.unaids.org/en/resources/fact-sheet 283 Ibid. 284 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023). Emergence and Evolution of H5N1 Bird Flu. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/flu/avianflu/communication-resources/bird-flu-origin-infographic.html. 285 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). SARS Basics Fact Sheet. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/sars/about/fs-sars.html.