What Can Be Done to Prepare for an Epidemic of Avian Influenza or Bird Flu?
To prepare ourselves for combating a possible Avian (bird) Influenza epidemic, the following should be considered:
1. The single most important thing than can be done to prepare for an epidemic such as Avian Influenza is to have well-prepared local health care systems. People should be prepared in ways that are sustainable and will remain useful even if the epidemic does not occur. Concerned citizens need to volunteer with their local and regional emergency systems and be trained in way that they can help in the event of a crisis.
2. Social norms and emergency procedures that would limit or delay the spread of the avian flu epidemic should be promoted to school children and the general public. Regular hand washing, and other beneficial cleanliness custom may save more lives than all other medicines combined.
3. Relevant drugs and vaccines should be bought and sold at fair prices. Families should stockpile reasonable quantities of medicines and emergency supplies in case of quarantine or even societal breakdown after a health crisis.
4. Make preparations to ensure the continuity of food and power supplies.
5. The federal government, despite being powerful, may be effectively powerless in your area in the worst times of avian bird flu epidemic. It is therefore appropriate to have local plans ready to be used when the situation requires.
6. Encourage the dissemination of valid predictive warnings about the avian bird flu epidemic and its spread. This will give the people a better idea and perspective of the probability of human-to-human transmission in a given area.
If there are some things to be done before or in times of the avian bird flu epidemic, there are also things that should not be done:
1. Tamiflu and vaccine stockpiling have their useful roles. But they should be the centerpieces of a plan. In addition to the medical limitations of these investments, other institutional factors, such as transportation, will restrict the ability to allocate these supplies promptly to the persons needing them.
2. Do not rely solely on quarantines and mass isolations. Both can be counterproductive.
3. In times of any type of epidemic, people should not expect the Armed Forces to be part of a useful response plan. An avian bird flu epidemic is no exception. As powerful as they might seem, they are also liable to have the disease themselves.
4. Do not expect that those in control will be able to block off or isolate the pandemic in its country of origin. With the extent of modern travel, any new disease is likely to have spread abroad already.
5. Once a pandemic has started, public places such as schools and marketplaces should be shut down or limited quickly, and everyone should be encouraged or required to wear a face mask when in public.
5. Do not obsess over the possibility of Avian Influenza at the expense of
other medical issues. The next epidemic or other public health crisis could come
from any number of sources. By focusing on local preparedness, the plan will
be robust enough that it will prove useful before and during the spread of any
mass disease.
Comments (0) 28.07.2009. 11:50
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