| Antivirals |
Antivirals are drugs used for the prevention and early treatment of influenza. Antivirals work by reducing the ability of the virus to reproduce but do not provide immunity against the virus. |
| Avian Influenza (AI) |
A contagious viral infection that can affect all species of birds. |
| BCP |
Business continuity planning (BCP). Enables critical services or products to be continually delivered to clients. Instead of focusing on resuming a business after critical operations have ceased, or recovering after a disaster, a business continuity plan endeavours to ensure that critical operations continue to be available. |
| CBO |
Congressional Budget Office. |
| CFIA |
Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Safeguards Canada’s food supply and the plants and animals upon which safe and high-quality food depends. |
| CRFA |
Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association (CRFA). |
| Enzootic |
An enzootic disease is constantly present in an animal population, but usually only affects a small number of animals at any one time. |
| Epidemic |
An outbreak of infection that spreads rapidly and affects many individuals in a given area or population at the same time. |
| Epizootic |
An epidemic outbreak of disease in an animal population, often with the implication that it may extend to humans. For example, Rift Valley fever (RVF) primarily affects livestock and can cause disease in a large number of domestic animals -- an "epizootic" -- and the presence of an RVF epizootic can lead to an epidemic among humans who are exposed to diseased animals. |
| Flu |
Another name for influenza infection, although it is often mistakenly used in reference to gastrointestinal and other types of clinical illness. |
| Food-borne illness |
Food contaminated by bacteria, viruses and parasites. It’s sometimes called food poisoning, and can feel like the flu. |
| GDP |
Gross domestic product. |
| H5N1 |
A strain of influenza type A virus that moved in 1997 from poultry to humans. While the outbreak of this virus was rapidly contained, it produced significant morbidity and mortality in persons who became infected, probably from direct contact with infected poultry. |
| Infection |
Condition in which virulent organisms are able to multiply within the body and cause a response from the host's immune defences. Infection may or may not lead to clinical disease. |
| Infectious |
Capable of being transmitted by infection, with or without actual contact. |
| Influenza |
A highly contagious, febrile, acute respiratory infection of the nose, throat, bronchial tubes, and lungs caused by the influenza virus. It is responsible for severe and potentially fatal clinical illness of epidemic and pandemic proportions. |
| Influenza A |
A category of influenza virus characterized by specific internal proteins and further subgrouped according to variations in their two surface proteins (hemagglutinin and neuraminidase). It infects animals as well as humans and has caused the pandemic influenza infections occurring in this century. |
| Pandemic |
Referring to an epidemic disease of widespread prevalence around the globe. |
| PHAC |
Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC). To promote and protect the health of Canadians through leadership, partnership, innovation and action in public health. |
| PSEPC |
Department of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada (PSEPC). Created in 2003 to ensure coordination across all federal departments and agencies responsible for national security and the safety of Canadians. From natural disasters to crime and terrorism, our mandate is to keep Canadians safe. |
| SARS |
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. |
| Strain |
A group of organisms within a species or type that share a common quality. For example, currently circulating strains of influenza include type A (H1N1), type A (H3N2), and type B (H3N2). |
| Symptoms |
Any perceptible, subjective change in the body or its functions that indicates disease or phases of disease, as reported by the patient. |
| Type |
A classification of influenza viruses based on characteristic internal proteins. |
| Vaccine |
A substance that contains antigenic components from an infectious organism. By stimulating an immune response (but not disease), it protects against subsequent infection by that organism. |
| Virus |
A group of infectious agents characterized by their inability to reproduce outside of a living host cell. Viruses may subvert the host cells' normal functions, causing the cell to behave in a manner determined by the virus. |
| WHO |
World Health Organization (WHO). A specialized agency of the United Nations generally concerned with health and health care. |
