Travel Tips

Pandemic Severity Index

Diseases associated with travel, like norovirus and avian flu, have been making headlines. But now there’s a new tool to help you figure out what’s hype and what’s not. The new Pandemic Severity Index from the Centers for Disease Control ranks outbreaks of disease just like the Hurricane Scale ranks hurricanes, in categories of increasing severity. So if you hear about 1,000 turkeys suddenly dying on a British farm, as happened early this year, you could find out that the outbreak turned out to be fairly benign–except for the turkeys, of course. This outbreak would be classed as Category 1, the least severe level, on a par with seasonal flu outbreaks.

A Category 5 pandemic, on the other hand, would be more like the outbreak of Spanish influenza after the first World War, when millions perished. Alternately, if you hear reports of disease in your destination, find out if it’s been given a rating on the Pandemic Severity Index scale. If it’s a high-level pandemic breaking out in your destination, it would probably be a good idea to at LEAST seek more information before jetting off.