Avian Flu Diary: CDC: Updated H7N9 Guidance Docs

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Although the United States has yet to see a confirmed case of H7N9 virus – and China has only reported one new case in the past several weeks - public health officials continue to watch this virus, and prudently prepare in case this virus reawakens this fall.

Today the CDC has released some updated guidance documents, which will primarily be of interest to public health officials, clinicians, and lab workers. The links are below.

Following these links, you’ll find some links on prudent pandemic preparedness you may want to consider as you create your own family, and business, emergency plan.

H7N9: What should I do?

CDC does not have any new or special recommendations for the U.S. public at this time regarding H7N9. CDC will keep you updated. Stay informed.

Since H7N9 is not spreading easily from person to person at this time, CDC does not recommend that people delay or cancel trips to China. The World Health Organization also is watching this situation closely and does not recommend any travel restrictions.

CDC advises travelers to China to take some common sense precautions, like not touching birds or other animals and washing hands often. Poultry and poultry products should be fully cooked. CDC will update its advice for travelers if the situation in China changes. This guidance is available at Avian Flu (H7N9) in China.

One of the tenets of this blog is that every family and every business should have a solid, well practiced, and frequently reviewed emergency plan.

One that prepares not for a single threat, like a pandemic, but one that can work across a variety of disaster scenarios.

But when a threat like H7N9, H5N1, or MERS-CoV looms, it makes sense to hone your plans to deal with a possible pandemic.

If you already have a pandemic preparedness plan, now would be a good time to take it out, dust it off, and see how it might be improved.

Three weeks ago, we looked at some pandemic planning options in Revisiting Pandemic Preparedness. Today some more preparedness links, for both your home and your business.

First stop, an OSHA fact sheet from 2009 on protecting employees during a pandemic.

During an influenza pandemic, transmission of the pandemic virus can be anticipated in the workplace, not only from patients to workers in healthcare settings, but also from customers and coworkers in general work settings. Employers can use a set of occupational safety and health controls referred to as the "hierarchy of controls" to reduce exposures to pandemic influenza in their workplaces. The types of control measures, listed from most effective to least effective, that may be used to protect yourself, your workers and your customers are:

Engineering controls;

Administrative controls;

Work practices; and

Personal protective equipment (PPE).

Next a 46-page PDF file from the Department of Labor and the HHS on preparing workplaces for an influenza pandemic.

The CDC provides the following links for Community Mitigation of Pandemic Flu on their Flu.gov website.

Mitigation Guide

Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation (PDF - 10.3 MB)
CDC guidelines on actions, designed primarily to reduce contact between people, that community government and health officials can take to try to limit the spread of infection should a pandemic flu develop. Appendixes 5, 6, and 7 contain information for childcare programs, elementary schools, and colleges and universities.

Plan Now to Be Ready for the Next Flu Pandemic (PDF - 213.55 KB); (DOC - 51 KB)

The Next Flu Pandemic: What to Expect (PDF - 226.83 KB); (DOC - 47 KB)

No one can predict when the next pandemic will arrive, or how bad it will be. It may not happen for years, even decades. History only tells us that pandemics happen, and they have the potential to be very disruptive.