#12,402
Just over 10 years (Feb. 1st, 2007), at a time when H5N1 was the hot pandemic topic, the CDC & HHS unveiled their 2007 Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation plan. This 108 page document covered a variety of topics, including the creation of a pandemic severity scale, and the expected role of NPI's (Non Pharmaceutical Interventions) in combating any pandemic outbreak (see The CDC Does NPI).
Two years later, the 2009 H1N1 pandemic erupted, and while not the virus (or the severity) originally feared, these guidelines provided an important set of tools for the incoming administration to use - particularly in the early days and weeks of the outbreak.Fast forward a full decade, and with the experiences of a moderate pandemic under our belts, and a far more complex line up of novel flu viruses (H5N1, H5N8, H7N9, H5N6, H3N2v, H1N2v, H1N1v, etc) in play, the CDC/HHS has decided to revise and hone the previous document, and replace it with a 2017 Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza.
The overview was published yesterday in the MMWR, and while lengthy, is but a fraction of the entire document. When you add in the two supplemental documents, this new set of guidelines runs over 160 pages, starting with:
Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza — United States, 2017
Recommendations and Reports / April 21, 2017 / 66(1);1–34
Noreen Qualls, DrPH1; Alexandra Levitt, PhD2; Neha Kanade, MPH1,3; Narue Wright-Jegede, MPH1,4; Stephanie Dopson, ScD5; Matthew Biggerstaff, MPH6; Carrie Reed, DSc6; Amra Uzicanin, MD1 (View author affiliations)
This HTML version contains only about half of the full PDF file (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/66/rr/pdfs/rr6601.pdf).
The two supplemental documents are:
Published Date: April 21, 2017Source: Qualls N, Levitt A, Kanade N, et al. Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza — United States, 2017. MMWR Recomm Rep 2017;66(No. RR-1):1–34.
Published Date: April 21, 2017
If it sounds as if there is a lot to read and absorb here, you're right. I've only just begun to dig into the details. Over the next week or two I hope to flesh out some of the highlights, and compare this new document to the old one.Source: Qualls N, Levitt A, Kanade N, et al. Community Mitigation Guidelines to Prevent Pandemic Influenza — United States, 2017. MMWR Recomm Rep 2017;66(No. RR-1):1–34.
A couple of months ago, in Probably Not The Worst Idea In The World . . ., we discussed how now might be a good time for businesses and agencies to take out their old pandemic plans, dust them off, and revise them as needed.
Perhaps this latest release from the MMWR will help to inspire other entities - both public and private - to follow suit.
