Pandemic Influenza Planning

 

1. What’s Pandemic Influenza
2. History
3. What’s Being Done
4. Locally How You Can Prepare

 

1.  What’s Pandemic Influenza?

A pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of a disease. An influenza, or flu, pandemic occurs when a new flu virus appears or “emerges” in the human population, causes serious illness, and then spreads easily from person to person worldwide.

Pandemics are different from seasonal outbreaks or “epidemics” of the flu.

• Seasonal outbreaks are caused by subtypes of flu viruses that already exist among people.  This is the flu “type” that you receive a flu shot for every winter.
• Pandemic outbreaks are caused by new subtypes or by subtypes that have never circulated among people, or that have not circulated among people for a long time. They also affect the world community at more or less the same time. Each year, 36,000 people die of seasonal flu in the U.S., mostly the elderly. Past influenza pandemics have led to high levels of illness, death, social disruption, and economic loss.

2.  History of Pandemic Influenza

During the 20th century, the emergence of new flu virus subtypes caused three pandemics.

• The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918-1919 is the catastrophe against which all modern pandemics are measured. Between 20 and 40 percent of the worldwide population became ill and over 50 million people died. Between September 1918 and April 1919, approximately 675,000 deaths from the flu occurred in the U.S. alone. One of the most unusual aspects of the Spanish flu was its ability to kill young adults. The severity of that virus has not been seen again.
• In February 1957, the Asian flu pandemic was first identified in the Far East. Immunity to this strain was rare in people less than 65 years of age, and a pandemic was predicted. Vaccine was available in limited supply by August 1957.  When U.S. children went back to school in the fall, they spread the disease in classrooms and brought it home to their families. Although the Asian flu pandemic was not as devastating as the Spanish flu, about 70,000 people in the U.S. died.
• In early 1968, the Hong Kong flu pandemic was first detected in Hong Kong. The first cases in the U.S. were detected as early as September of that year, but illness did not become widespread in the U.S. until December.  This pandemic was the mildest pandemic of the 20th century with 700,000 deaths worldwide.

3.  What’s Being Done Locally?

Influenza pandemics have historically taken the world by surprise, but this time we’ve been warned in advance. For more than a year, conditions favoring another pandemic have been unfolding in parts of Asia. Scientists agree that all countries around the world should prepare for a pandemic.

Visit PandemicFlu.gov
for one-stop access to U.S. government
avian and pandemic flu information

Computer models suggest that a “medium–level” pandemic could cause more than 6,000 deaths in Georgia. A pandemic as bad as the 1918 Spanish flu could cause as many as 57,000 deaths. Every community will be affected.

Click here to link to Georgia’s Pandemic Influenza Plan        

Even people who do not get sick will feel the effects of the pandemic because some activities will be cancelled and some businesses will close temporarily.

To plan ways to minimize the disruption to our community, the South Central Health District held 2 Pandemic Awareness meetings for county and city leaders and 10 county Pandemic Awareness      Forums for the general public in August and September of 2006.  In the 10 county meetings, community members were asked to volunteer to serve on one of 10 task forces to compile and write a plan for our area’s preparation and response to a flu pandemic. 

4.  How You Can Prepare
You may think that preparing for a pandemic is the job of public health officials, doctors and hospitals. They must prepare, but individual citizens and community organizations need to prepare as well. We are used to relying on medicines to cure diseases and make us feel better when we are sick. But during a pandemic, we will not be able to do this because:

• A vaccine probably will not be available in the early stages of a pandemic.
• Antibiotics don’t work against viruses
• Antiviral medications will be in short supply, and may not work if the virus becomes resistant.

You can prepare by:

• Storing a supply of food and water
• Having any nonprescription drugs and health supplies handy
• Talking with family members about how they would be cared for if they got sick or what will be needed to care for them in your home
• Volunteering with local groups to prepare and/or assist your community with emergency response
• Teaching your family to wash hands frequently with soap and water
• Teaching your family to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues or sleeves
• Teaching your family to stay home from school or work when sick.