Well, I didn't find any information as for what the wife was talking about in reference to the viris hitting the U.S.
However, She pointed out in a Japanese newspaper that shows stories online, and I went to the english version...however the english version never says the same stories!
Since she said that the same data is on the WHO (World Health Organization), I decided to go there.
I had found out that one thing the wife was referring to is a "Pandamic influenza", which is a "rare but recurrent event", as quoted by the WHO's FAQ about ten things you need to know about pandamic influenza.
I'm not sure how the codes go, but the "pandamic influenza" is an H5N1 strain. So far, I had read that the U.S. has seen an H1 and H2 strain, so I'm almost guessing that the "H" and following number is the degree of severity. The "N1" may just be a number added for the type of strain, or it could be another severity code or classification..that I couldn't find on the WHO home page.
So, I guess the easiest thing to do is take a visit at the <a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.who.int/en/">WHO (World Health Organization)</a> home page.
Thank you for your replies. And take precautions as I see you are, to prevent getting the flu.
Oh, an FYI that my doc told me..if everyone in the world got the flu vaccine for every strain in the world, that would rid the flu..at least for that season and maybe the next, but for some reason it still has a way of surfacing...