|
|
|
2007-9-3 17:21:43 |
|
U.S. Health Officials Unveil Flu Pandemic Plan Outbreaks would be tackled based on a 'severity index' of transmission, they say By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter U.S. Health Officials Unveil Flu Pandemic Plan Outbreaks would be tackled based on a 'severity index' of transmission, they say By Amanda Gardner HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Feb. 1 (HealthDay News) -- U.S. health officials on Thursday outlined an early-warning system similar to that employed for hurricanes to protect and mobilize the country against a flu pandemic. The community-based response system would categorize flu pandemics on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the deadliest. Each level of the "Pandemic Severity Index" (PSI) carries a set of recommendations, ranging from hand washing to closing schools, which are intended to slow the spread of the virus while a vaccine is being prepared. "One important and new concept is that not all pandemics are equally severe, and we have used what we know about epidemiology to devise a severity index," Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), told a press teleconference. "One that does not move very fast from person to person would likely be a fairly mild pandemic. On the other hand, we know from 1918 that we had a pandemic that not only moved with extraordinary speed but also had an unusually high mortality rate. We would categorize that as a category 5 pandemic," she added. The teleconference took place a day after the CDC's first "full functional" avian flu exercise, in which all personnel at the Atlanta headquarters participated. Health officials have worried that the bird flu virus currently circulating around the globe might mutate, unleashing a new type of flu virus that could prove even more deadly because people's immune systems would not be able to fend off the disease. The existing H5N1 bird flu strain has generated more fear than normal because of its virulence and ease of transmission among flocks of domestic birds. So far, bird flu has infected 270 people around the world and killed 164. Human casualties remain largely confined to Asia and to people who have had close and prolonged contact with infected birds, such as poultry farm workers. And, so far, the H5N1 virus has not demonstrated the ability to jump easily from person to person. But despite recent reports that a pandemic may not be close-at-hand, U.S. health officials are still concerned. "The media buzz may have died down, but the H5N1 virus has not," Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told the teleconference. "The disease is highly pathogenic and continues to spread. We can't be certain that H5N1 will be the spark of the next pandemic, but we can be sure there will be another pandemic." "Pandemic influenza is not necessarily imminent, but we believe it is inevitable," Gerberding added. The new initiative consists of two components. The first is a "community mitigation guide," which outlines specific steps for communities to take depending on the severity of the pandemic. Recommendations include asking ill persons to stay at home until they are no longer contagious in the case of a level 1 situation; closing schools and child-care programs for up to three months in the case of a more severe pandemic; canceling public meetings; and asking people to work from home. Such measures admittedly have a downside, officials stated. For instance, adults may have to stay home from work to tend to children who can no longer go to school. And communities will need to take these into account. "We've got some real tough decisions here," Gerberding said. "There are a lot of dilemmas." A recent Harvard study found that one in four adults said they had no one to care for them at home if they did fall ill. Another one in four said they could not afford to miss work for one week. Not all communities are expected to implement all the guidelines. "This is a complete list," Gerberding said. "What an individual or community does depends on local circumstance." But the earlier the plans are implemented, the better, Gerberding added. The second component of the initiative is a public service announcement (PSA) campaign that will direct people to a government web site. "This guidance is interim," Gerberding said. "This was our best effort right now, but we fully expect that as we learn more, we're going to need to update this planning tool." More information For more on the new pandemic efforts, visit pandemicflu.gov. SOURCES: Feb. 1, 2007, teleconference with Secretary Mike Leavitt, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Julie Gerberding, M.D., director, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta Last Updated: Feb. 01, 2007 Copyright © 2007 ScoutNews, LLC. All rights reserved. CDC briefing Thursday, February 1, 2007 2:00 p.m. JULIE GERBERDING, DIRECTOR, CDC: Good afternoon and thank everyone for joining us for this important press briefing. This is another step toward pandemic preparedness and we are going to learn about two new initiatives that the Department of Health and Human Services and other parts of government have worked together to prepare for our public. I would like to start by introducing Secretary Mike Leavitt, who is going to talk with you a little bit about one of the initiatives. As I think everyone knows, Secretary Leavitt has been an enormous champion of flu preparedness. And it has really been under his leadership that we have been able to take giant strides towards really digging in, rolling our sleeves up and preparing not only the government but the entire network of communities across out country and across the world. Secretary Leavitt, we would love to hear from you. MIKE LEAVITT, SECRETARY OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES: Thank you, Dr. Gerberding. A little over a year ago, the President mobilized the nation to prepare for a pandemic. I traveled to almost every state and territory to hold planning summits. At every level of government our plans are developing and resources have been allocated. Today we are better prepared than we were a year ago, but there is still much to do. There is also a danger that as avian influenza slips from the headlines that people may begin to believe that the threat is no longer real. The media buzz may have died down, but the H5N1 virus hasn't. Over the past two weeks, seven cases of avian influenza in humans have been reported and five of those people have already died. To date, more than 265 people have contracted this disease. Dozens of countries across three continents have seen H5N1 claim poultry and kill wild birds. The disease is highly pathogenic. And it continues to spread. Now we can't be certain that the H5N1 virus will be the spark of the next pandemic. We can be sure that pandemics happen. It happened in the past and they will happen in the future. That is why we continue to take this threat so seriously. Preparedness has to involve planning at every level of government, every school, every business, every church, every civic organization, every family, every individual needs to have a plan. To make sure that people have the information they need to have effective plans, we are releasing two initiatives today. The first, we are releasing a community mitigation guide. This document helps communities understand the appropriate steps that they need to follow depending on the severity of the pandemic. These steps can include things like closing schools, canceling public meetings, or the need to stay home for an extended period of time. By anticipating the need for these activities, we can execute them more effectively. These steps can help reduce the spread of the disease until a vaccine is available, and that means saving lives. The second initiative I want to speak about today is a public service announcement or a PSA campaign. This will provide useful tips and it will help people know what to do about pandemic flu. It directs them to a government web site, pandemicflu.gov. There they can get more information. We have an opportunity to become the first generation in human history to prepare for a pandemic. Let's continue toward that goal. Now before turning back to Dr. Gerberding, I would just like to show you two of our public service announcements and I want to thank you all for your attention to this very important public health issue. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT: Hey dad? Mom? Grandpa? I know bird flu is quite rare in humans, but could that change as the virus changes? Do the experts expect bird flu to have global ramifications? Should we be taking precautionary measures in case bird flu becomes a pandemic? UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT: Need some answers? Visit pandemicflu.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO today. A message from HHS. UNIDENTIFIED PARTICIPANT: (SPEAKING IN SPANISH). (END VIDEO CLIP) DR. GERBERDING: Well, as you can see we are reaching out into the communities and doing everything we can to alert people across the whole network that we need to prepare. CDC is one part of the front line of pandemic preparedness, but we're doing today by a number of the other partners who are working with us on these efforts. And I would just like to acknowledge the tremendous contributions of not only my colleagues at CDC and in the Department of Health and Human Services, but some colleagues who have joined us from other very special components of the effort. First of all, Dr. Paul Jarris, who is the CEO of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officers, is a true visionary in public health and he represents the whole governmental public health system, both local and state public health officials whose true role is on the front line. I'd also like to introduce Dr. Carter Mecher who is a member of the Homeland Security Council, the Executive Office of the President and, Carter, you have really been behind the scenes doing the lion's share of heavy lifting in terms of moving these guidelines through the government and we really appreciate and thank you for your leadership. I'd also like to introduce Ms. Camille Wellborn, who is the special advisor to the Secretary of the Department of Education. I think one of the most rewarding parts of this effort has been the integration and the close working relationship with Education. And we couldn't have done that without your contribution. So I thank you very much for that leadership. Not here today is Dr. Richard- sorry - Hatchett who is part of the National Institutes of Health. But he is the person who really first conceived some of the premises that have led to the guidance that we're bringing forward today and we want to acknowledge his intellectual property and his leadership as well. And then finally Dr. Howard Markel is here from, where are you, thank you, from Michigan, who is one of the modelers and the scientists behind the scenes who have put together a lot of the data that have led to this effort. On the telephone bridge we have from the Department of Homeland Security Mr. Alfonso Martinez-Fonts, who is the Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector, bringing the private sector into planning and infrastructure and protection of the things that keep society functioning is key to all of this. And not least of all is Ms. Susan Howe, who is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy in the Department of Labor, recognizing the important role that businesses and workers and employees play in all of this. So let me start by giving just a little bit of context to how we went about trying to do the kinds of planning that communities need to protect people against flu. We have some premises. As Secretary Leavitt said, pandemic influenza is not necessarily imminent, but we believe it is inevitable. And it is not a question of if. It is a question of when. So we do have to prepare. It would be irresponsible if we didn't continue our planning efforts. And this isn't just about H5N1 avian flu. This is about any novel influenza virus to which people have not been exposed and to which we might all be susceptible. Planning requires that a whole network is engaged. It means individuals and families. It means communities and it means the whole system of business, education, health care and government really work together so that we have a strong linkage throughout the entire network. |
