# 3417
CIDRAP’s (Center For Infectious Disease Research and Policy) Promising Practices website is chock full of important information on dealing with a pandemic, and highlights programs designed to do just that from all over the country.
In the past I’ve highlighted several of their practices, including:
Promising Practices: Neighborhood Emergency Teams
Promising Practices: Psychological First Aid
But these just barely scratch the surface of the 185 practices collected on this site. You could spend days gleaning good information off this site (and probably should).
Tonight CIDRAP brings us a promising practices article on a familiar theme to those who visit flu blogs, and flu forums: the need for personal and community preparedness.
I’ve only printed the opening paragraphs, follow the link to read it in its entirety.
PROMISING PRACTICES FOR PANDEMIC PLANNING
Experts stress need for personal, community preparedness
Ayisha Yahya
Staff Writer
Editor's Note: CIDRAP's Promising Practices: Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Tools (www.pandemicpractices.org) online database showcases peer-reviewed practices, including useful tools to help others with their planning. This article is one of a series exploring the development of these practices. We hope that describing the process and context of these practices enhances pandemic planning.
Jun 30, 2009 (CIDRAP News) – If you don't have an emergency preparedness plan for yourself, your family, and even your community, now is a good time to make one. That's the message public health officials are sending as cases of the novel H1N1 influenza virus continue to rise nationally and globally.
"If you don't have a plan, you need one now," said Roger Pollok, special projects manager for Emergency Preparedness at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District in Texas. "The stakes are a little different now."
The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the current outbreak a pandemic on Jun 11. "We are in the earliest days of the pandemic," said WHO Director-General Margaret Chan that day in a statement to the press. "The virus is spreading under a close and careful watch."
Health experts say there is no way to predict what is still in store, but they have concerns that the coming fall flu season might bring a second wave of illnesses, potentially more severe.
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2 comments:
I just read the following on the website www.thelaist.com:
"Seeing a rise in influenza cases and outbreaks in Los Angeles County, the Department of Public Health is asking residents to heed caution. 'During this summer, the recommendations for avoiding illness are the same as during the fall or winter months: wash your hands, cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, and stay home if you are sick,' said Jonathan E. Fielding, Director of Public Health and Health Officer, in a statement.
The increase of cases are not directly related to A H1N1 (“swine flu”) and many are showing flu-like symptoms without actually having influenza. Officials list various scenarios and what-to-dos on their website."
Can anyone tell me what that second paragraph means? As of yesterday afternoon I have sore throat, some body aches, manageable headache, and a somewhat sore neck, but no fever. Spouse is feeling slightly crummy with some gastrointestinal symptoms. Are they saying there is something else going around? Another flu that isn't swine? At this time of year?
I am completely confused now, and slightly paranoid that they're not telling things straight. What is "flu-like symptoms that isn't influenza" supposed to mean?
Sorry for taking up so much space.
Anon,
This paragraph was confusing to me as well, although there are non-influenza viruses (and conditions) that can produce `flu-like symptoms'.
So I went to the L.A. County Health Department website, and looked at the press release
http://publichealth.lacounty.gov/phcommon/public/media/mediapubhpdetail.cfm?prid=696
I don't find this quote in yesterday's press release.
It does mention that not all cases of ILI (Influenza-like-Illness) are due to influenza, and lists some other causes. Quoting:
While not all cases of reported influenza are due to the new flu A H1N1 ("swine flu"), and not all cases of flu-like illness are influenza, many cases of flu and other respiratory illnesses can be prevented and easily treated by following simple recommendations
I don't know if that 2nd paragraph was simply a mangled statement by an official (it happens), a misquote, or a misunderstanding on the part of the reporter.
But even this press release does appear to be downplaying H1N1 just a bit.
Reminders that there are other influenza strains in circulation - when 99% of those tested are currently novel H1N1 - seem unwarranted.
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