State Preparing for Bird Flu
County To Get Federal Funding
A contagious disease that normally infects only birds has spread from Asia to Europe and Africa. The avian influenza known as H5N1, or "bird flu," has caused the death or destruction of 150 million birds, mostly chickens. The virus, first identified in Southeast Asia in 1997, can infect humans but only on rare occasions.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the first confirmed human cases of bird flu occurred in Viet Nam in 2003, and since then it has infected 194 people in nine countries causing 109 deaths. Currently it is not highly contagious among people, but scientists fear a mutation could make it more easily transmittable among humans, sparking a pandemic.
During past pandemics, as reported on the WHO website, attack rates reached 25 to 35 percent of the planet’s total population, and under the best circumstances, "the world could still experience an estimated 2 million to 7.4 million deaths."
Bird flu could soon be in the U.S., as experts indicate it could arrive this summer, carried into Alaska or northeastern Canada by migrating birds. Recently a Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Summit, hosted jointly by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, was held in Los Angeles.
"From floods to fires and earthquakes, California has been a national leader in disaster preparedness," said Gov. Schwarzenegger. "We will continue that leadership role as we prepare for the emerging threat of pandemic flu. We can't predict what will happen, but what we can do is plan. State government is taking action to prepare for a flu pandemic, but every Californian plays a role in preparedness. Every community, business, school and family must have their own emergency plan."
To help local agencies develop their plans, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said the federal government had earmarked $3 million for Los Angeles County and $6 million for the state government. The state plan focuses on detection, response and recovery efforts during an outbreak. Major components of the plan include intensifying surveillance and collaborating on containment measures, stockpiling antivirals and vaccines and increasing their production, increasing health care surge capacity and developing public education and communication efforts to keep the public informed.
For details about bird flu pandemic preparedness in Los Angeles County, log on to lapublichealth.org.
