WHO SAYS IT JUST A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE AVIAN FLU STRIKES
Pandemic is likely
World Health Organization says it is just a matter of time before Avian Flu strikes
Elaine Pennington, Editor
Sunday June 11, 2006
Camrose Canadian — East Central Health, the province and the federal government are doing everything possible to ensure they are prepared for the worst possible case of a pandemic flu outbreak.
Camrose physician Dr. Diane Wong told Camrose Chamber of Commerce members that whether we like it or not, a pandemic outbreak of influenza is just around the corner.
Disaster
“In a nutshell it will be the biggest disaster of our time,” Wong said, comparing the pandemic to a hurricane hitting every major city, small city, town and village in the country. “It will last for months and maybe even years.”
While some people have been suspicious that fears of a pandemic are simply a hoax or have been overblown, “every health expert thinks that it’s not if, but when it’s going to happen. Don’t just take my word for it, read the newspapers, try to get your information from the real top sources.”
As waves of fear swept through the assembled business and political leaders, Wong compared the human flu that strikes every year, but that rarely leads to death, to a pandemic outbreak which is created by a mutation of bird flu and the human flu virus.
“A pandemic is a vicious kind of flu that happens every 30 to 40 years,” Wong said, noting we are now on the outer limit of that cycle. She added that in the case of pandemic flu it will strike the young and elderly, but also “healthy young people.”
Normally the death rate from influenza is less than .1 per cent, however in a pandemic that rises to 2.5 per cent of those who fall sick. She said with the pandemic flu, symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs drowning in fluid, brain swelling and skin turning purple and then black before the victim dies.
The Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918-19 “was the worst natural disaster in human history. There was one town in Alaska where 75 per cent of the community died.”
The world’s population at the time was 1.8 billion and of those, one billion got sick with Spanish Flu. “That’s four times the number of deaths of World War I, in one quarter of the time... 824 people died in Winnipeg and it was twice the size of Camrose (now) at that time.”
A pandemic appears three or four times every century as influenza develops the ability to jump from the animal kingdom to humans. While precautions have been taken and people are encouraged to wash their hands regularly, cover their mouth when they cough, the avian flu is moving steadily westward from China, Russia and Hong Kong and is now into Europe. To date is has not been identified in North America, but it is just a matter of time. It is inevitable, Wong admitted.
The recent earthquake in Indonesia has created a hot bed for an outbreak. The country had several human deaths after people had contact with infected birds and as a result of the earthquake many survivors are now sleeping in their chicken coops on H5N1 infested feces.
East Central Health suggests businesses start putting in place a plan to ensure they are ready in case a pandemic breaks out. First, plan for the impact of a pandemic on the business. Check that existing contingency plans are applicable to a pandemic. In particular, check to see that core business activities can be sustained over several weeks.
Identify other critical inputs (i.e. raw materials, suppliers, sub-contractors), services/products and logistics required to maintain business operations by location and function during a pandemic.
Determine which outside activities are critical to maintaining operations and develop alternatives in case they cannot function normally.
Interruptions
Plan accordingly for possible short interruptions of essential services like sanitation, water, power, and disruptions to the food supply.
Identify your company’s essential functions and the individuals who perform them. The absence of these individuals could seriously impair business continuity. Build in the training redundancy necessary to ensure that their work can be done in the event of an absentee rate of 25 to 35 per cent.
Massive
In the Camrose trading area of 104,000 people Wong said, businesses and governments can expect to see “31,200 ill.”
The key to reducing the risk is maintaining a healthy work environment by encouraging healthy behaviours at all times and posting tips on how to stop the spread of germs at work.
“Use waterless soaps - handwashing it is so basic, but it’s true,” Wong said.
Develop a policy
Establish or expand policies and tools that enable employees to work from home with appropriate security and network access to applications, if possible.
Expand online and self-service options for customers and business partners, if possible.
Educate
Communicate with and educate your employees. Tell the workforce about the threat of pandemic influenza and the steps the company is taking to prepare for it. In emergencies, employees demonstrate an increased tendency to listen to their employer so clear and frequent communication is essential. Encourage personal preparedness.
Update sick leave and family and medical leave policies and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill.
Visit www.pandemicflu.gov or www.cdc.gov for more information on the pandemic or avian flu.
World Health Organization says it is just a matter of time before Avian Flu strikes
Elaine Pennington, Editor
Sunday June 11, 2006
Camrose Canadian — East Central Health, the province and the federal government are doing everything possible to ensure they are prepared for the worst possible case of a pandemic flu outbreak.
Camrose physician Dr. Diane Wong told Camrose Chamber of Commerce members that whether we like it or not, a pandemic outbreak of influenza is just around the corner.
Disaster
“In a nutshell it will be the biggest disaster of our time,” Wong said, comparing the pandemic to a hurricane hitting every major city, small city, town and village in the country. “It will last for months and maybe even years.”
While some people have been suspicious that fears of a pandemic are simply a hoax or have been overblown, “every health expert thinks that it’s not if, but when it’s going to happen. Don’t just take my word for it, read the newspapers, try to get your information from the real top sources.”
As waves of fear swept through the assembled business and political leaders, Wong compared the human flu that strikes every year, but that rarely leads to death, to a pandemic outbreak which is created by a mutation of bird flu and the human flu virus.
“A pandemic is a vicious kind of flu that happens every 30 to 40 years,” Wong said, noting we are now on the outer limit of that cycle. She added that in the case of pandemic flu it will strike the young and elderly, but also “healthy young people.”
Normally the death rate from influenza is less than .1 per cent, however in a pandemic that rises to 2.5 per cent of those who fall sick. She said with the pandemic flu, symptoms include bleeding from the eyes, nose, mouth, lungs drowning in fluid, brain swelling and skin turning purple and then black before the victim dies.
The Spanish Flu outbreak in 1918-19 “was the worst natural disaster in human history. There was one town in Alaska where 75 per cent of the community died.”
The world’s population at the time was 1.8 billion and of those, one billion got sick with Spanish Flu. “That’s four times the number of deaths of World War I, in one quarter of the time... 824 people died in Winnipeg and it was twice the size of Camrose (now) at that time.”
A pandemic appears three or four times every century as influenza develops the ability to jump from the animal kingdom to humans. While precautions have been taken and people are encouraged to wash their hands regularly, cover their mouth when they cough, the avian flu is moving steadily westward from China, Russia and Hong Kong and is now into Europe. To date is has not been identified in North America, but it is just a matter of time. It is inevitable, Wong admitted.
The recent earthquake in Indonesia has created a hot bed for an outbreak. The country had several human deaths after people had contact with infected birds and as a result of the earthquake many survivors are now sleeping in their chicken coops on H5N1 infested feces.
East Central Health suggests businesses start putting in place a plan to ensure they are ready in case a pandemic breaks out. First, plan for the impact of a pandemic on the business. Check that existing contingency plans are applicable to a pandemic. In particular, check to see that core business activities can be sustained over several weeks.
Identify other critical inputs (i.e. raw materials, suppliers, sub-contractors), services/products and logistics required to maintain business operations by location and function during a pandemic.
Determine which outside activities are critical to maintaining operations and develop alternatives in case they cannot function normally.
Interruptions
Plan accordingly for possible short interruptions of essential services like sanitation, water, power, and disruptions to the food supply.
Identify your company’s essential functions and the individuals who perform them. The absence of these individuals could seriously impair business continuity. Build in the training redundancy necessary to ensure that their work can be done in the event of an absentee rate of 25 to 35 per cent.
Massive
In the Camrose trading area of 104,000 people Wong said, businesses and governments can expect to see “31,200 ill.”
The key to reducing the risk is maintaining a healthy work environment by encouraging healthy behaviours at all times and posting tips on how to stop the spread of germs at work.
“Use waterless soaps - handwashing it is so basic, but it’s true,” Wong said.
Develop a policy
Establish or expand policies and tools that enable employees to work from home with appropriate security and network access to applications, if possible.
Expand online and self-service options for customers and business partners, if possible.
Educate
Communicate with and educate your employees. Tell the workforce about the threat of pandemic influenza and the steps the company is taking to prepare for it. In emergencies, employees demonstrate an increased tendency to listen to their employer so clear and frequent communication is essential. Encourage personal preparedness.
Update sick leave and family and medical leave policies and communicate with employees about the importance of staying away from the workplace if they become ill.
Visit www.pandemicflu.gov or www.cdc.gov for more information on the pandemic or avian flu.
Comments
Pandemic Bird Flu Preparedness Info