Application: Pandemic Flu Planning
Potentially one of the most serious of all public health crises is pandemic flu. In this week's Application, you will describe plans for responding to such a pandemic.
Begin by browsing through the flu.gov/about_the_flu/h5n1/#, found at https://www.flu.gov/, and familiarize yourself with the resources on the site. Then complete the following steps:
- Read the "Executive Summary" and Appendix 3: "WHO Global Pandemic Phases and the Stages for Federal Government Response" from the following document on the site: "Interim Pre-Pandemic Planning Guidance: Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation in the U.S." found at https://www.flu.gov/planning-preparedness/community/community_mitigation.pdf
- Access the influenza plan for your own state and scan it for information to respond to the exercise below.
For this exercise, assume that cluster(s) of avian influenza appear in your state. These are still localized but show some evidence of human transmission (phase 5).
Drawing on the resources from this Web site and your other Learning Resources this week, address the following questions in a two-page paper:
- What epidemic control steps do you recommend?
- What legal authorities may have to be invoked?
- What factors will determine or deter the success of your plan?
- Are you likely to control the outbreak so that it does not proceed to the pandemic phase 6?
- Would you add anything to the government's plan, or do you think this is adequate?