Copyright 2005 Aging & Elder Health Week via NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net
Aging & Elder Health Week
At the direction of Governor Edward G. Rendell, Pennsylvania has taken steps to protect the health and safety of the commonwealth in the event of an avian influenza (H5N1) outbreak, including the development of a response plan that is being made available to the public, state Health Secretary Dr. Calvin B. Johnson and state Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff.
“Governor Rendell directed us to work across agencies, with community partners, to step up our efforts to make sure that Pennsylvania is prepared to deal with avian flu or any type of disease outbreak,” Johnson said.
“There have been no human cases of avian flu in Pennsylvania, or the rest of the United States,” Johnson said. “While avian flu poses no immediate threat to the commonwealth, we are ready to respond if it does. Rather than dealing with a severe disease outbreak - often called a pandemic - as it occurs, we are putting measures in place to safeguard the health of our citizens beforehand.”
Measures that have been put in place include:
-Surveillance and detection systems, both animal and human - The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture has what is regarded by most as one of the most comprehensive avian flu plans in the country. Likewise, Pennsylvania has one of the best human disease surveillance systems in the nation, including receiving real-time reports from hospitals, public health departments, physicians and pharmacies on possible disease outbreaks.
-A plan for dealing with an outbreak if one would occur - The U.S. Department of Health has worked with hospitals, EMS providers and other health care organizations on the county, regional and state level to develop a plan. Much of the planning includes working with hospitals to identify their ability to deal with surge capacity, alternative medical treatment sites and points of distribution for vaccines and antiviral mediations.
-World-class laboratories, both animal and human, to test specimens - Pennsylvania has its own labs to conduct influenza testing and identification. By knowing what strains of influenza are in Pennsylvania, both agriculture and health are better able to understand what is happening and inform the citizens of Pennsylvania what they can do to help reduce their risk.
Johnson emphasized that if the H5N1 avian flu were to spread, it would be a global concern and Pennsylvania would be working with public health partners from around the world to deal with the outbreak. At this time, there is no vaccine against this virus.
In addition to monitoring the potential human transmission of the avian flu, steps have been taken to monitor the state’s bird population.
The state’s public health emergency response during pandemic influenza is based on the six response phases of a pandemic as outlined by the World Health Organization. It addresses what the state will do in those phases regarding surveillance, emergency response, distribution of vaccines and/or antivirals and communication.