March 31, 2006

BIGFORK VALLEY NEWS RELEASE

For immediate release

Getting ready

“Preparedness,” said regional Red Cross Emergency Services Director Tony Guerra, “starts at home.”

He was pointing out the importance of local participation in dealing with a disaster where federal and state services are overwhelmed. In a pandemic, where an illness spreads rapidly over a large area, services from outside the state or region might not be available, and the impact on a local area might depend on the ability of the local residents to mitigate it.

In fact, if the avian flu does become a human pandemic, projections indicate that up to 30 percent of the population might be affected and almost 3900 people may need hospitalization at one time in the seven county Arrowhead region, according to Arrowhead Public Health Preparedness Coordinator Jim Gangl. Only 607 beds are available.

It’s a serious matter. Right now no one knows if the virus will mutate into one that does move from human to human. But if it does, and it arrives in the northland, will we be ready?

Bigfork Valley is part of a network of hospitals and other providers and governments in the Arrowhead that formed the Northeast Public Health and Medical Preparedness Coalition four years ago to begin working on these hard questions. On March 22 media representatives and hospital information officers gathered to hear how plans are being made to deal with a potential pandemic.

What they heard was that there is still work to be done. The federal government is working on the science: vaccine development, antiviral medication distribution and surveillance of bird and animal populations. The region is gearing up with communications, planning how to dispense medication and how to deal with a surge of cases when many of the health care staff themselves may not be available.

Now it is time to carry the message to communities, families and individuals.

Disaster Planning at Bigfork Valley

Should we be worried? How can we prepare?

The “bird flu” in the news is just one strain of a common sickness of birds - both domestic poultry and wild geese, ducks and shorebirds – that increases seasonally. One strain, the “highly pathogenic H5N1” strain, has been shown to infect humans that have close contact with diseased birds. According to state epidemiologist Amy Westbrook, there are two ways this strain could transform into a virus which could move from human to human, something it has not yet done. The virus could mutate or it could move to another type of animal that more closely resembles a human. We do know it is, she noted, slowly mutating.

It also has not yet reached the United States in surveillance studies. The most likely means of arrival is via the overlap in migration patterns in Alaska and the Pacific, possibly first appearing in April or May. But there are other means, such as illegal smuggling of exotic species.

In the past, there have been three highly pathogenic strains found in the eastern and southern U.S. poultry flocks, according to a US Department of Agriculture fact sheet; in 1924, 1983 and 2004. All have been contained and none has caused significant human illness.

But in 1918 pandemic flu did sweep the world, killing millions. Although most reports are from third world countries and there is no clear information on how many have actually been infected, it appears that the current bird flu strain could prove fatal for half of those seriously ill.

So, mindful of the lessons of Hurricane Katrina, said Gangl, it is better to prepare before than wait to see if something occurs and try to deal with it afterwards.

And there are things each of us can do.

On the community level, citizens need to identify needs, resources and barriers to getting resources where they are needed. For instance, if many of the public workers are out sick, who collects the garbage?

For individual households, there are some practical things that can be done in advance.

• Have enough food and water on hand for the family and pets if you need to stay home for a week or two. ·
• Have extra medical supplies on hand, including prescription medicines, hand sanitizers and wipes.
• Know your neighbors and if there is someone who should be checked on as well as whom to call if help is needed.
• Stay home if you are sick.
• Get an annual flu shot.
• Have a family emergency plan to maintain contact.

In addition, said Gangl, people need to protect themselves by washing hands well and often and taking care of their own health. If sick, they should protect others by avoiding crowds and staying home.

There is always a need for volunteers in a crisis. The Red Cross is one group which maintains a volunteer force, said Vern Wagner of the Red Cross’ “Flu Crew” committee, a group of volunteers who would organize things like delivery of food and water in a pandemic emergency. More volunteers are needed. The Northland chapter of the Red Cross can be reached at (800) 590-4272 or online at www.redcrossnorthland.org.

The regional preparedness groups have also made strides, conducting exercises like the tabletop disaster drill Bigfork Valley held last year for its management staff. In fact, the Arrowhead region is the second in the country to have put in place a psychological first aid program with 750 currently trained and a target of 2000 trained by the end of the year, according to Bonnie Holz, the regional public health coordinator for emergency preparedness.

Next Sept. 14 and 15, the next step will be taken; a drill run region-wide to test the distribution of medications the region would receive from a federal cache in an emergency. Both the time necessary and the physical setup needed to get medication to essential personnel and to the general public will be tested.

This time the pills will be M&Ms. And although officials hope that the distribution system is only tested with candy, it will be ready if the need is there.