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In order to address planning efforts for viruses of differing severities, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control published the document, "Interim Pre-pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the United States— Early, Targeted, Layered Use of Nonpharmaceutical Interventions."  Figure One from that document is reproduced to the left.

A circulating influenza virus in Category 1 would have a severity similar to seasonal influenza strains circulating in recent years.  An influenza strain in Category 4 or 5 would be similar to the virus that circulated in 1918 and caused 50 to 70 million deaths worldwide.

In the case of a Category 1 or 2 pandemic, obtaining health care would likely be little different than it would be during a normal influenza season.  For Category 3 or above pandemics, every person alive could be faced with severe difficulties obtaining they type and level of health care for themselves or their families to which they have become accustomed.

At home and throughout our communities, individuals may be faced with having to provide home health care for family members, neighbors, or others suffering from disease with serious and sometimes lethal outcomes.  Most of us are not accustomed to providing home care for people with disease of such severity or transmissibility.

The resources listed below discuss ways to prepare for providing home care during a pandemic, as well as specific procedures and approaches to help others survive severe influenza and to minimize the risks to caregivers and others.