Limiting spread of flu virus critical

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The overarching goal of the Southeastern District Health Department is to create Healthy People in Healthy Communities. I am passionate about the work my colleagues and I do in public health such as health promotion, environmental health, and family and community health services. But, quite frankly, I’m starting to feel a little like Chicken Little, in communicating the message that another pandemic is coming. While I certainly don’t want it to happen, I do want people to be prepared for it. It could happen in the not too distant future.

Picture this scenario. Athletes from South Africa, Kenya, Namibia, Great Britain, China and the United States shake hands and hug to congratulate one another after a grueling 1,500 meter track and field competition. The next day, one of the athletes wakes up with a fever, cough and runny nose. Meanwhile, the American athlete has boarded a plane filled with 250 passengers to return home. She begins to exhibit the same signs and symptoms just two days later. Her breathing becomes labored and she reports to a local hospital. Testing indicates she has an extremely virulent and highly infectious strain of Avian Influenza, or H5N1. There is reason to believe that she was infected in China and that the virus has begun to spread easily from person to person. The thought of the 250 people on the flight lingers in my mind; they may have been exposed to the virus.

China is where Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) was discovered and 30 cases of H5N1 have been reported since 2003. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has issued warnings and recommendations for travelers and athletes heading to Beijing for the Olympics. The CDC’s site, www.cdc.gov, addresses the risks of H5N1 and other health hazards such as, rabies, mosquito-borne illnesses and breathing problems because of poor air quality. The Chinese government reportedly has been working to mitigate the risk of disease and other health hazards as well.

Public health encourages people every year to receive the influenza vaccine as a first line of defense for seasonal influenza. Unfortunately, in a pandemic scenario, it will take scientists time to identify the new strain and six to nine months to develop a new vaccine. It is highly doubtful there will be enough for the entire population.

Therefore, it will become paramount to adhere to recommendations in order to reduce disease and death rates. Now it’s time to emphasize the importance of protecting against getting the virus, or what we refer to as non-pharmaceutical interventions.

If you are sick, please stay home. This is a mind-set that is difficult for workers and employers to adhere to. Sure, we have work to get done and staying home sick will put us a few days behind. But I like my co-workers and don’t want to be the cause of undue suffering on their part. When you cough or sneeze, please, do so in your sleeve (www.coughsafe.com). For years our Mothers told us to use our hand to cover our mouth or nose when needed, but in this case, mother wasn’t right. When doing so, virus particles were caught in our hand, and when we went about our day, we were literally spreading germs left and right. The new etiquette is to cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow. One thing Mom did get right, WASH YOUR HANDS, WASH YOUR HANDS and WASH YOUR HANDS. Use hand sanitizers or plain old soap and water. Please just wash those hands!

The above are current public health recommendations that will further be highlighted during pandemic influenza. When a rise in influenza cases occurs, social distancing measures to reduce disease transmission will be recommended for implementation. For example, large public gatherings and school sessions may be cancelled. The first things that come to mind are sporting events, concerts, theatres, funerals and church gatherings. Quarantine and isolation orders were adopted in 1918, but it is our hope that our communities will join together and work to prevent the spread of the disease by adhering to recommendations so we don’t have to take legal actions to enforce infection control measures.

Workplaces may be encouraged to alter workplace environments and change scheduling to decrease social interactions and keep workers healthy in order to continue providing essential services. Teleconference calls will be encouraged versus face-to-face meetings. Many businesses are already doing this as a result of higher gas prices.

Denise O’Farrell is the emergency preparedness health care liaison for the Southeastern District Health Department’s Public Health Preparedness Program.

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