| Simian flu | |
|---|---|
 Riot in Hong Kong, 2017 | |
| Disease | Simian flu |
| Virus strain | Alzheimer 113 (ALZ-113) |
| Source | Hominidae |
| Location | Worldwide |
| Index case | San Francisco, United States |
| Date | 5 August 2016 |
| Confirmed cases | 6.97 billion |
Deaths | ~6.956 billion (estimated) |
| Fatality rate | 99.8% |
The simian flu is an ongoing pandemic that began in August 2016. It is the deadliest pandemic in human history—about 99.8 percent of the global population, roughly 6.956 billion people, are estimated to have died from the pandemic; hundreds of thousands to millions more have died from issues directly caused by the pandemic. The simian flu began with an outbreak in San Francisco, United States in August 2016. It spread throughout North America and then worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) in September, and assessed it had become a pandemic in October.
The simian flu is caused by exposure to ALZ-113, a viral-based drug originally intended to cure Alzheimer's disease. Engineered by biotechnology company Gen-Sys Laboratories in San Francisco, ALZ-113 was preceded by ALZ-112, developed from 2003 to 2008. ALZ-112 successfully cured the disease and even boosted cognitive function, but lost effectiveness within five years as the immune system developed antibodies to fight the viral delivery system. To correct this, ALZ-113 was engineered with a more aggressive viral strain. On 5 August 2016, laboratory technician Robert Franklin was accidentally exposed to ALZ-113. Within 24 hours, Franklin began presenting deadly flu-like symptoms, and was found deceased within 72 hours of his infection. Prior to his death, Franklin infected American Airlines pilot Douglas Hunsiker, who caused a superspreading event upon flying to New York City the following day.