# 2113
Pandemic plans are all well and good, but they don't mean much until you test them. While drills are sometimes oversold to the press, they are essential to figure out what works, and what needs work.
Anything that facilitates the sharing of information, a stated goal of this drill, can only be a good thing in a crisis. It is hoped that the lessons learned from this drill will result in the creation of new guidelines for use during a pandemic.
This from the Yomiuri Shimbun.
Japan, China, S. Korea plan flu outbreak drill
The Yomiuri Shimbun
The government has decided to conduct its first joint drill with China and South Korea, possibly in October, to prepare against the possibility of an outbreak of new strains of influenza, according to sources.
Through the joint drill, the three countries hope to determine whether the sharing of information among them and their quarantine measures are satisfactory, using the results of the drill to establish new guidelines.
The Japanese government also plans to conduct joint drills with domestic medical institutions and local governments and to determine if these entities nationwide are fully prepared for a possible outbreak.
H5N1 avian influenza virus is said to have mutated into a new strain of influenza that can be passed on to humans. Many experts say such an outbreak would occur in Asia, where many people are reported to have been infected with the H5N1 virus.
Many people and items move among the three countries, as do many migrating birds. For this reason, the countries decided that cooperation was essential to prepare against possible outbreaks.
According to the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, the government is currently discussing the details of possible scenarios for the drills with the two other countries and related entities. The drills are expected to take place in October after the Beijing Olympic Games have finished.
The government has announced it will urge Japanese nationals living or traveling abroad to return home immediately from a foreign country in which there is an outbreak of any new influenza strain.
The basic premise of the joint drill will be that a new strain of influenza breaks out in one of the three countries.
Through the drill the government aims to confirm the effectiveness of measures already taken to strengthen the nation's quarantine system. For example, the government will see whether quarantine officials are able to determine if passengers are infected with the new strain at four airports designated to accept chartered flights carrying Japanese nationals living or traveling in one of the countries at the time of an outbreak.
(Jun. 30, 2008)
