State Department Issues Pandemic Advisory

#200


The U.S. Department of State has issued an interesting advisory to Americans residing in Hong Kong urging them to prepare for a possible Avian Flu pandemic.


US citizens in HK told to stockpile for bird flu outbreak

Hong Kong (dpa) - US citizens in Hong Kong have been advised to build a three-month stockpile of food, medicine and water in their homes in case of a bird flu pandemic, a news report said Tuesday.
An advisory has been sent out to all 60,000 registered US citizens in the former British colony urging them to prepare the stockpiles ahead of the coming winter flu season.

It suggests stockpiling 4.5 litres of water per person per day and to prepare water purification equipment in case of ''complete infrastructure breakdown,'' the South China Morning Post reported.

The advisory also suggests they stock up on non-perishable foods, soap, alcohol-based hand wash, medicines, vitamins, flashlights and a portable radio, the newspaper said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/MAIN2006110779051.html


A visit to the Consulate General’s website for Hong Kong and Macau turns up even more detail.

American Citizens Services Newsletter
Pandemic Influenza -- Preparing for Possible Shelter-In-Place
U.S. Consulate General for Hong Kong and Macau
November 3, 2006

The U.S. Department of State recently sent a cable to all diplomatic and consular posts entitled "Pandemic Influenza: Preparing for Possible Shelter-In-Place". The cable's main intent was to provide guidance to all staff regarding "shelter-in-place". That is, in the event of severe pandemic influenza with high morbidity, the public may be advised to self-quarantine. Therefore, current guidance notes that families should be prepared to "shelter-in-place" for up to twelve weeks, and maintain sufficient food and water supplies to accommodate that entire period.

Just as in the United States, U.S. government employees and their families overseas have primary responsibility for maintaining adequate supplies of food to shelter-in-place. This also applies to private U.S. citizens. For the long term, families are advised to store foods that are non-perishable, do not require refrigeration, or preparation (including the use of water), or cooking. The cable also advises that families should store one gallon of water per person per day.

Read more at:
link

While I find this warning to be significant, it should be noted that a visit to another major US Consulate General’s website, that for Bangkok, Thailand, produced no sign of any increased pandemic preparation level. Of course, that could change at any time.


So what are we to make of this?


First, I think this is a prudent warning. Ex-pat Americans will likely find repatriation during a pandemic unlikely. And Hong Kong was the site of the first Avian Flu outbreak nearly 10 years ago, and is a likely `ground zero’ should a pandemic begin. So giving fair warning to our citizens their makes sense.


There could also be a political component here, as well.


The current dust up between the WHO (World Health Organization) and the Chinese government has gotten pretty nasty over the last few weeks. The WHO reports a new strain of Avian Flu, the H5N1 Fujian-like strain, has been detected spreading across China. China, which has withheld genetic sequences since 2004, denies a new strain has developed, and maintains there is no reason to release the sequences.


This could be a well-timed `shot across the bow’ of the Chinese, designed to embarrass them into cooperating. But somehow, I doubt it. To ask 60,000 ex-pat Americans to stockpile food, water and medicines for 3 months would place an extreme burden on them, and I doubt the State Department would do that just to make a political point.


I think this simply illustrates just how seriously our State Department takes the Avian Flu Pandemic threat.


It will be interesting to see if other embassies follow suit in the coming days and weeks.


In any event, I applaud the Hong Kong Consulate General’s office for taking this bold step. As some of my readers know, my brother lives abroad in Thailand. He travels extensively in Asia. He would be among those trapped in a foreign country should a pandemic begin.


The stronger, and earlier the warning for him, and others like him, the better their chances are of surviving a pandemic.