| Avian influenza, or bird flu, has been in the spotlight recently, thanks to Hollywood. When the movie “Fatal contact: Bird Flu in America” aired, the federal government’s pandemicflu.gov Web site had a jump in the number of visits.
Health officials assert that there is no flu epidemic in the world currently, and that bird flu may not be “the one” that could turn into a pandemic. However, since influenza pandemics have been recorded in 16th century, each century historically has seen three pandemics on average, occurring at intervals of 10 to 15 years, according to information from Tacoma Pierce County Health Department.
The last global pandemic occurred in 1968, called the “Hong Kong Flu,” so some experts believe one is due to occur soon. While the H5N1 virus of avian influenza doesn’t have any proven cases of human to human transmission — an essential ingredient for a pandemic — in the words of a Pierce County health district official, they “are watching.”
“Currently, avian flu H5N1 is a pandemic in birds, not humans, and no H5N1 virus has been detected in North America,” said Eva Crim, program manager with the Kitsap County Health District. “Public health agencies at the international, national, state and local levels are, however, closely monitoring the situation.”
Health officials point out that even if the H5N1 virus were to appear in humans in the United States, it does not mean the start of a pandemic.
“I think people… need to understand what the facts are, and people who understand the facts are not overly concerned,” said Laura Jull, Harrison Medical Center emergency preparedness coordinator. “There’s an H5N1 (virus) out there and we’re watching it. Those of us who understand that process area calm and in planning mode.”
Locally, the planning is coordinated by the health district, which is working with Kitsap County Emergency Management, the medical community, local law enforcement, agencies and businesses to prepare an emergency response to a pandemic and to make sure the public receives correct information. The health district has a regional pandemic flu plan that also includes Jefferson and Clallam counties. The plan is currently being updated.
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Learn More
For more information about pandemic flu and disaster preparedness, visit www.kitsapdem.org, www.kitsapcountyhealth.com, or pandemicflu.gov.
Eva Crim, Kitsap County Health District program manager, offers the following tips for businesses:
Plan for the impact of a pandemic on their business (identify essential employees and other critical inputs such as raw materials, suppliers, services, logistics etc., train and prepare their employees, develop an emergency communications plan, implement their plan and exercise/drill the plan.
Plan for the impact of a pandemic of their employees and customers
Establish policies to be implemented during a pandemic, e.g. leave, sick days, telecommuting, shutting down operations, infection control.
Allocate resources to protect employees and customers (provide infection control supplies, enhance communications and information technology infrastructure)
Communicate and educate employees
Coordinate with external organizations (collaborate with insurers, health plans, and major local health care facilities, and local public health).
A Business Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist is available at This Link.
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“Every month we get more information,” said Phyllis Mann, director of Kitsap County Emergency Management. “These are the most dynamic plans I have seen in my life.”
The focus of the plan is to minimize impact on the local community, and it also looks at aspects such as resources and how to bring in supplies, food etc. Respiratory etiquette (covering a cough, washing hands, staying home when sick and wearing a mask, etc) is being promoted for individuals to minimize their exposure, as well as overall disaster planning for families that includes storing as much as two weeks’ worth of food and supplies and having a family plan.
Businesses should implement contingency plans by identifying critical functions and how they will be continued in a disaster. What makes a pandemic different from a disaster like earthquake is that a communicable disease can continuously spread. Businesses may need to consider additional insurance coverage as well. As awareness of disaster implications grows, some companies are adding designated positions to prepare plans — as is the case with Jull, whose job at Harrison was added last year.
“There is heightened awareness,” Jull said. “People watched in horror what happened in (Hurricane) Katrina.”
A pandemic influenza could cause an estimated 200,000 deaths in the country and as many as 5,000 in the state, according to the Washington State Department of Health. More than 20,000 may require hospitalization and more than a million may require outpatient visits statewide, but during a severe pandemic the numbers could be much higher.
“The numbers are staggering. We’ll not only be looking for spaces to treat people, but also people to treat people,” Jull said.
The Department of Homeland Security has allocated some funding to states for emergency preparedness and response. Washington received $2 million last year for distribution to jurisdictions. Additional funding will be allocated starting Sept. 1, but the amount coming to Kitsap County was not known in June, according to Crim.
Public health and disaster response officials are recommending to the public to start practicing proper hygiene. “I’m going to quote Dr. (Scott) Lindquist, (health district director), ‘Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands,’” Mann said.
Another important aspect, however, goes against our culture, which discourages people from taking sick leave. “Stay home when you’re sick,” and encourage employees to do the same, Mann said.
The Kitsap Health District hosted a pandemic flu workshop last year, and plans several new workshops, which will start this fall and continue into 2007.
The county is also recruiting a Medical Reserves Corps of retired nurses, doctors and other medical personnel to enlist as volunteers to help in any medical emergency. |
