|
Associated Press Federal official urges preparation for possible
pandemic U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt told about 400 people who attended a daylong flu pandemic summit at Purdue University that human history is filled with pandemics that killed millions. And he said it's just a matter of time before the next one strikes with devastating consequences. "Pandemics happen and when they do they reshape the world," Leavitt said after reminding the gathering at the Purdue Memorial Union about the "unseen world of viruses that are constantly mutating, constantly changing." Leavitt visited Indiana as part of his national tour of states to check on their work to prepare for a pandemic amid growing concerns that the H5N1 bird flu strain that's killed more than 100 people overseas could mutate into a form that's transmitted from person-to-person. Nearly all of the people infected with bird flu have had close contact with infected poultry. Although no cases of bird flu have been reported in the United States, officials say it is likely to arrive this year in migrating birds. The virus has spread recently with migrating birds to Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Leavitt said no one can predict if and when the bird flu virus or some other deadly virus will mutate and spread across human populations worldwide. He said that fact only heightens the need for hospitals, emergency responders, businesses, government and other entities to be prepared. The federal government has asked all states to prepare for the possibility of a bird flu pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has drafted guidelines to help state and local entities with that task. Gov. Mitch Daniels said the state's departments of health and homeland security, which co-hosted the summit, continue to work with other agencies on various pandemic plans. Representatives of law enforcement, the business community, health care providers, universities and others were briefed Thursday on those preparations. After addressing the gathering, Daniels and Leavitt signed a resolution under which the HHS committed to help the state with guidance technical assistance, and backed that up with about $2 million in funding for planning. Leavitt's agency also agreed to review Indiana's plans for the use, storage and distribution of antiviral drugs that could prove effective during an outbreak. For its part, Indiana has agreed to demonstrate its preparedness plan within six months, and create a pandemic planning committee. As Thursday's summit closed, Daniels signed into law legislation that gives greater authority to state and local officials to impose quarantines aimed at halting the spread of communicable diseases such as the flu. If the avian flu does lead to a pandemic, state officials estimate nearly 6,000 Hoosiers would die if the virus infected 35 percent of the population. Federal officials have estimated that 1.8 million Americans could die. Pandemics occur when a powerful new virus that people lack an immunity to mutates in such as way that it is spread easily between humans. Daniels told the summit that he had read disturbing accounts of the social and economic upheaval wrought by the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak, which killed about 11,000 Hoosiers, 500,000 Americans and 50 million people worldwide. He said those accounts offer a sober reminder that everyone needs to take the pandemic threat seriously. "There's not a moment to lose," Daniels said. The governor cautioned Hoosiers against either ignoring or overreacting in panic about the possibility of a pandemic, saying they and the state needs sensible planning to ensure that Indiana is prepared for the unknown. The state has formed statewide and county-level emergency plans to deal with a possible pandemic. Under certain worst-case scenarios, affected people could be quarantined. "We need to walk the balance beam between complacency and alarm," he said. Unlike natural disasters that are soon followed by relief efforts, the summit's attended were told that government at all levels will be overwhelmed during a pandemic, struggling to maintain basic services and coordinate operations. "By definition, a pandemic means you are on your own," said Eric Diet, executive director of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security. Leavitt said Hoosiers need to make their own plans for a possible pandemic by setting aside drinking water and nonperishable foods so that they are not caught off guard.
|