Vestavia Hills Prepares for Pandemic Flu
Is Your City Ready?
By Niko Corley, Communications Coordinator
It’s not a question of if but when. A pandemic influenza, easily transmitted from person to person and infecting and killing large numbers of people worldwide, is likely to occur in the near future, though it is impossible to say when for certain. Different strains of influenza are constantly hopping around the globe, and State Health Officer Dr. Donald Williamson says it is a waiting game to see which strain of flu will mutate to the point that humans can contract and transmit it to others easily.
“No one can tell you if it will be avian or some other type of flu that will be the next pandemic,” Williamson said.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the H5N1 flu strand sweeping across Europe and Asia could pose a considerable threat to human health for several reasons: it is an especially powerful strain; it is being spread by migratory birds (which cover great distances in their migrations making spreading the virus easier); it can be spread from birds to mammals and in some case to humans; and, like other flu viruses, it continues to mutate, meaning whether the H5N1 strand kicks off a pandemic or not, some genetic variation of the virus will most likely do so soon.
That aside, Williamson is quick to point out H5N1 has not mutated to the point that it is easily transmittable from person to person.
“Unless you are a bird, H5N1 is not a health threat right now,” Williamson said.
In the 20th century there were three influenza pandemics, one each in 1918, 1957 and 1968. Between them, an estimated 52 million people died worldwide, 780,000 of which were in the U.S. Williamson says that were a pandemic flu to hit the country today, mild projections predict 200,000 Americans and 4,000 Alabamians would die while severe estimates put the death toll at 1.9 million Americans and 29,000 Alabamians.
Anticipating the devastation pandemic flu would have on the population, the city of Vestavia Hills has been preparing for an outbreak for more than six months now. At the request of Vestavia Hills mayor Charles A. “Scotty” McCallum, the city formed a Health and Emergency Response Committee to develop a plan to prepare the city and make it more self-sufficient should a flu pandemic hit the community.
“We want to try to make individuals understand that there will not be help coming from outside and that we will have to stand alone,” McCallum said.
The committee, which provides the most up-to-date flu information available to citizens, is comprised of physicians, nurses, police officers, firemen, paramedics, city residents and an attorney. But why an attorney?
“We need a lawyer to tell us what we can do legally as far as quarantine and isolation,” McCallum said.
That statement alone should demonstrate how seriously Vestavia Hills is taking the threat of an influenza pandemic and should motivate other municipalities which have not begun preparing for such a potential disaster to do so. McCallum says the committee found the best way to prepare for a flu pandemic in Vestavia Hills was to try to get neighborhoods to band together.
The city’s Health and Emergency Response Committee has provided citizens with information on individual preparedness, including recommended supplies people should stockpile. The city has also begun training neighborhood associations in dealing with large numbers of sick people and quarantining procedures, as well as training police in emergency medicine. McCallum says city flu pandemic preparations are not meant to scare citizens but instead to encourage them to organize their home and neighborhood plans.
“You try not to get people upset about this, just [to get them to] be prepared,” McCallum said.
Dr. Thomas Terndrup, who is head of the UAB Department of Emergency Medicine and chairman of the Vestavia Hills Health and Emergency Response Committee, says in formulating its recommendations for Vestavia Hills’ pandemic flu preparations, the committee studied the national plan for pandemic flu preparedness. When asked the most important things individuals and families can do to plan for a flu pandemic, Terndrup read bullet points from a list that said to “be prepared, be ready, know what to do, don’t pass it on, keep your distance and help your community.”
He also expressed concern over how some people’s preparations for a flu pandemic would probably be misguided and inadequate. For example, during a flu pandemic, Terndrup says simply getting a store of flu medicine without altering one’s lifestyle is the wrong way to prepare.
“People need to follow the bullet points and not expect there is going to be a magic pill or vaccine to make it go away,” Terndrup said.
In order to get the word out to citizens, the Vestavia Hills Health and Emergency Response Committee held a forum in March where presentations on avian flu were made to the public and preparation information was given out. For those unable to attend the meeting, copies of the distributed materials were made available at city hall. Much of the information included would be useful during other emergencies, including acts of bioterrorism or natural disasters.
Should a flu pandemic hit, many people would miss work either because they are sick or are caring for someone who is. Others, out of fear of becoming infected, would also stay home. While medical technology has come a long way in the nearly 90 years since the first flu pandemic of the 20th century, reactions to another pandemic wouldn’t be much different in 2006 than they were in 1918.
Given the absence of a vaccine against pandemic flu and the four- to six-month lag before one could be developed once a pandemic hits, other non-medicinal methods for maintaining public health would need to be put into practice.
“Today, we would approach a pandemic much like we did in 1918,” Williamson said. “The way you do that is with social distancing – canceling church services, schools and public gatherings.”
Keeping close contact between people at a minimum would lower infection rates and help slow the spread of the virus during a pandemic. But social distancing, beyond the minor inconveniences it causes people in their day-to-day lives, also poses real problems for industry and government.
“The biggest challenge businesses face and municipalities face is how do you maintain business, clients and services when 40 percent of the workforce is incapacitated?” Williamson said.
When a flu pandemic occurs, at bare minimum, there will be a disruption in supply. Shortages in grocery stores will not be uncommon and at least a brief interruption to normal life should be expected and planned for. Businesses may be ordered to cut their hours of operation and worker absenteeism will be high. Postal service may also be disrupted and schools, theaters and churches may be closed.
The aforementioned happenings all occurred in Alabama during the flu pandemic of 1918 and are but a few of the things municipalities need to prepare for in the event of a another flu pandemic. None of this is meant to scare, but rather, as McCallum said, to encourage planning and preparation. While both the state and federal government are stockpiling supplies and training personnel to deal with pandemic influenza, these entities should not be relied upon to save a community from a flu pandemic. There is still time to prepare, and every effort should be taken to foster discussion and planning for individual and municipal readiness.
Pandemic Influenza Websites:
www.vestaviahills.net
www.pandemicflu.gov
http://www.adph.org
www.cdc.gov
www.who.int/en |
