Flu Update #2
May 1, 2009
Dear Members:
The League is in regular contact with the County Health Department regarding the flu situation. They have numerous professionals monitoring the situation around the clock. Should the flu or some aspect of it become a problem in your city, please share your concern with County Health Department officials before taking any major community actions. On rare occasions in the past (tuberculosis for example), the County may exercise its powers to quarantine an individual and they could do so with the flu, but we are not anywhere near that point and hopefully will not face widespread problems.
Mayors probably have the power to stop some events or close buildings should a highly contagious outbreak occur and we encourage each city to examine its ordinances and procedures. We would likely deal with mass transit or similar issues that cross over municipal boundaries by taking coordinated action through the County Health Department, should the need arise. In St. Louis County, every school district has traditionally been assigned a county health nurse and they in turn instruct all school nurses and administrative personnel. School closings would normally be handled by the school district or private school director, perhaps in consultation with the County Health Department. Cities may want to establish a line of communication with local schools in order to assist your community and families, if the flu reaches our community.
Again, we strongly encourage discussions with the Health
Department so we can all coordinate wisely and take advantage of the
professionals in our county should you be faced with a problem.
The
County Emergency Operation Center (EOC) would be activated is the situation
becomes high risk, just as it is during bad storms, floods, and so on.
Police and fire departments would follow normal routines for interacting
with the EOC.
City officials
can contact the County Health Department at 314 615-1636
during regular hours, M-F, for more
information.
A few basic questions are answered below and on the links available through the State website listed at the end of this document:
How is the Swine flu, or H1N1 detected?
A simple blood test cannot identify a very specific flu, but can tell within about 15 minutes if the person has some flu. Detailed blood work takes a few days but can then identify a flu as the Swine flu. If a person has flu-like symptoms, it is best to seek medical advice and encourage separation in order to stop the spread.
Are doctors sending information to the Health
Department? What about schools,
nursing homes?
Yes. Every doctor, clinic, emergency room, etc. is instructed to report every case to the County. This is highly coordinated locally, with the state, and across the nation and world. Day care centers and long term care facilities are also contacted by the County Health Department. Doctors and others have received county instructions.
Are there vaccines to prevent this flu?
Not yet. It takes several months to develop a vaccine for a new flu. That is why prevention is so important, especially if this flu is highly contagious and/or dangerous.
What about drugs to treat it?
Public health officials recommend the use of oseltamivir (Tamiflu) or zanamivir (Relenza) for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with these swine influenza viruses. These antiviral drugs are prescription medicines that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications. For treatment, antiviral drugs work best if started within two days of symptoms. People should contact their physician should they feel they have the flu and should take precautions to avoid spreading it by avoiding contacts, coughing into a tissue of shirt sleeve, wearing a mask, washing hands frequently, not sharing any dishes, keyboards, telephones, remote controls, until they are sanitized, etc.
Will
there be a shortage of drugs?
Emergency planning grew dramatically after the 9/11 terrorist attacks and Katrina. Important drugs are stockpiled by the CDC, along with certain protective clothing and masks and other medical supplies. Some of these are being shipped to states and counties should they be needed. Key personnel such as paramedics, nurses, etc. will be first in line. Common drugs are available at local pharmacies too.
The following is a good state website with many other links: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/BT_Response/_SwineFlu09.html.
Tim Fischesser, Executive Director
April 27, 2009
RE: Swine Flu
Update
Background:
For years, we have been warned that mass casualties can result from
tornadoes, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, and a pandemic involving a new
influenza. Historically, we know
that many natives in the New World died when Europeans first landed here and
indigenous populations had no immunity to imported diseases.
Similarly, the makeup of the influenza virus can change and attack humans
anywhere at anytime. In typical
flues, humans have already built up some immunities and medical professionals
have some time to analyze slight changes and grow vaccines that can be given to
humans as part of the annual flu shot effort.
Vaccines take months to develop. And
once a new flu like the swine flu is discovered humans have fewer natural
immunities. Therefore, some new
flues can inflict significant harm before a vaccine is available.
Prevention then becomes a key to stopping the flu.
Strategies for Preventing the Spread of the Flu:
There are many things that businesses and families can do to make a pandemic event less disruptive to you. All it takes is a little advance planning.
For
yourself and your family and friends:
1. Learn to recognize the symptoms of the flu. Contact your physician early if you see these symptoms.
2. The “Ready in 3” program provides a simple guide to families that encourages: A plan, a kit, and listening to information. It can be read at http://www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/.
3. Determine what you would do if you have children, and schools and daycares close in your area.
4. Use proper hygiene, by washing hands frequently, coughing into your shoulder or elbow, and wash frequently-used objects often (such as remote controls, keyboards, phones, table surfaces) with alcohol-based cleaners (any store bought cleaner should work).
5. Decide if you want to buy masks or gloves to use as protection against getting the flu. Consider getting a prescription for Tamiflu or Relenza for every member of your family.
6. Inquire of your employer if Work from Home or Telework is available, or if they will implement other social distancing techniques.
Employers
should consider the following:
1. Make sure your employees are educated about pandemics and that their families are informed about the above steps. If your employee’s family is panicked or feels at risk, the employee will not come into work.
2. If you have a pandemic plan, review it with senior management and run an exercise this week if possible. Make it clear who is the lead official for enforcing the plan. (See the City of Clayton plan on the League website below).
3. If you don’t have a pandemic-specific plan, obviously you want to create one this week. Go to www.PandemicPrep.Org and click on the Resource Guide, which has useful templates and checklists that will give you a head start on creating a pandemic plan.
4. In your plan, consider how you will continue your critical functions with 30-40% less staff than you have now. For example, can police continue to patrol without the necessity to come into the police station and thereby avoid more exposure to the flu? How can sleeping arrangements for fire/paramedic staff be arranged to reduce the spread of the flu? Can recreation programs be curtailed and healthy staff assist with other functions? Can public safety officers curtail non-essential activities if there is a staff shortage? If so, plan now to list the services that must continue and those that can be curtailed.
5. What will you do if all schools and daycares in the area are closed? How many of your staff will be impacted? What if some should close in order to halt the spread of disease, but refuse to?
6. Encourage sick employees to stay home. Try to avoid one sick person spreading the disease to an entire department or more. Make sure you have a policy for those with no sick leave pay available but who may be contagious and want to come to work.
7. Begin to learn who has control over major decisions in your community, such as closing schools, restricting group gatherings, enforcing quarantines.
There is much more to consider in building a complete Pandemic Plan. Please check the Resource Guide at www.PandemicPrep.Org for more suggestions.
The Municipal League hosted a seminar last year for municipalities and posted information at the top of our website that will help with municipal plans. Please go to http://www.stlmuni.org for guidelines and examples.
You may also benefit from visiting the Missouri State Health and Human Services Website, which also has a link to the federal CDC: http://www.dhss.mo.gov/BT_Response/_SwineFlu09.html.
ST. Louis County Health Department has a traditional link to diseases and will be posting more information on its site soon. For now, basic information on pandemic illnesses and flues is available at http://www.stlouisco.com/doh/citizen_services.html.
At the time of this writing, Missouri is not experiencing many cases of the Swine flu. Overreacting is not necessary. But good planning would be prudent now and may well serve your municipality soon, or in the future should a calamity occur.
Thanks to St. Louis County Municipal League.