America Steps Up Readiness For Flu Pandemic

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Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Bird Flu / Avian Flu;  Public Health
Article Date: 02 Feb 2007 - 6:00 PDT

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Health authorities in cooperation with federal agencies across the US have stepped up their readiness to mobilize the nation against a flu pandemic. They have launched a number of public initiatives to help individual citizens and communities plan for and manage a pandemic of a flu virus to which they will have no immunity.

"The threat of a pandemic continues to be real. We need to continue helping state and local decision-makers determine some of the specific actions they could take during the course of a pandemic to reduce illness and save lives," said Mike Leavitt, Secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The new initiatives include: a Pandemic Severity Index (PSI); new guidelines on what to do in the event of a pandemic; a website giving one-stop access to the latest information; and a consultation process to get people's reactions to the guidelines so they can be improved.

Pandemic Severity Index (PSI)

This will work in a similar way to the already widely understood index for hurricane strength, where a number from 1 to 5 will show how serious an anticipated pandemic is likely to be. The flu pandemic of 1918 that killed 50 to 100 million people worldwide would be a category 5. A category 1 would be a severe influenza season. The categories are based on the anticipated number of deaths.

The PSI is not to be confused with the World Health Organization's (WHO) pandemic alert phase. This uses the numbers 1 to 6 to denote the state of global alertness. The world is currently at phase 3, which means that a new type of influenza virus exists (H5N1 avian flu), it is known to cause disease in humans, but it is spreading with difficulty and failing to sustain itself among humans.

Guidelines

The guidelines tell communities what to do when a flu pandemic strikes in order to reduce the spread of infection amongst its members and from community to community. The guidelines correspond to the PSI category, so that a PSI of 5 would trigger the most stringent measures that community authorities, businesses, schools, hospitals and other organizations should take to reduce the spread of the disease.

Examples of the type of action that communities may be advised to take include:

- Asking ill people to stay at home for up to 10 days.
- Asking that other members of the household also stay at home for 7 days.
- Giving ill people any available antiviral medication.
- In the most severe pandemics, sending students and schoolchildren home, and closing day care centres for up to three months.
- Taking measures to reduce contact between children and teenagers in the community (eg closing youth centres).
- Stopping large gatherings where people to people infection can take place such as concerts.
- Changing working practices to minimize social contact, eg working shifts, working from home.

Pandemic Flu Website

A one-stop access to US government information on avian and pandemic flu has been set up at pandemicflu.gov.

The site is maintained by the HHS. The site is in English and Spanish and contains resources, guidelines on planning for and managing an outbreak, medical explanations and statistics on the avian and pandemic flu situation on a national and state by state basis, and in the rest of the world. It has links to other relevant sites, such as the WHO avian flu site.

The website is also the portal for the public and communities to give feedback and express opinions on the guidelines and other government policies and actions relating to pandemic preparation and management.

Public service announcements (PSA) are also beginning to appear on radio and tv to raise public awareness and give up to date information.

"We need to keep up our efforts to educate the public before a pandemic emerges, and these PSAs will help people know what do to about pandemic flu," says HHS Secretary Leavitt.

Click here for pandemicflu.gov

WHO Avian Influenza site.

Written by: Catharine Paddock
Writer: Medical News Today
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

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