Influenza Update #3 - U.S./Mexico Situation

MedPrep Consulting Group LLC Dr. Stuart B. Weiss  IMPORTANT INFLUENZA UPDATE #3 US/MEXICO SITUATION April 26, 2009 As number of cases grow, the WHO declares a Public Health Emergency of International Concern As new cases are identified in New York City and Kansas. the World Health Organization (WHO) declares a "Public Health Emergency of International Concern".   CURRENT SITUATION: After convening a meeting of an expert panel, the WHO Director General declared the swine flu outbreak as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern as defined by the 2005 International Health Regulation. She has recommended countries around the world intensify surveillance. The WHO stopped short of changing the Pandemic Phase as the committee waits for more data from Mexico NYC Department of Health has determined that at least 8 of the more than 100 school children in a private school in Queens, NY that have been sick with flu like symptoms over the past few days have swine flu. Samples have been sent to the CDC for confirmation. Some family members of the school children have also come down with symptoms. All symptoms have been mild, none have required hospitalization. Kansas Department of Health has confirmed two cases of swine flu in adults in the same household. One had recently traveled to Mexico. British health authorities are reporting that one British Airways flight attendant is undergoing tests in a hospital after becoming ill with flu like symptoms after returning from a flight to Mexico.  Three teachers and 22 students in Auckland, New Zealand are being tested after becoming ill following a three week trip to Mexico.  The number of cases in Mexico is now reported as 81 deaths and 1324 sick. The President of Mexico has assumed new emergency health powers to facilitate the quarantine and treatment of sick people. ANALYSIS: This situation is highly fluid as details from Mexico and the U.S. are emerging. As we advised yesterday, this is a time to prepare and you should consider the world at WHO Pandemic Phase 4 even though the level itself has not been raised. Yesterday the CDC said "Cases are now mild, that may change. This is the time to prepare."   It is not unusual to see more cases reported as states and countries increase their surveillance. Cases that otherwise would have been considered to be seasonal flu will now be scrutinized and may turn out to be this new swine flu. As you can imagine, there is considerable interest in why cases in the U.S. seem to be mild while cases in Mexico seem to be more serious. This could be due to the small numbers of cases in the U.S. so far compared to the large numbers in Mexico. Remember, it is still unknown exactly how many cases there are in Mexico.   It is important to remember that the 1918 Influenza Pandemic started with mild cases and then as the virus moved through the population, it changed into a form that caused more serious disease. While it is impossible to know if this virus will follow the same path or just burn itself out, it is important for you to plan now for the possibility of worsening conditions.   ADVICE: Continue to closely follow the news. News stories about this will continue to appear on all major news outlets. Remember that we expect to see more cases pop up as surveillance around the world is stepped up. Watch for an increase in severity of illness. NOW IS THE TIME TO REVIEW YOUR PANDEMIC PLANS. I know that I keep saying this but I can't stress this enough that it is time to consider what would happen if this virus turns more serious in the next few months and you had a 30%-40% reduction in your staff. If you don't have a plan, brainstorm on a quick down-and-dirty list. If you don't have a pandemic plan in place, brainstorm a quick list of critical business processes you need to maintain your business viability and then create a list of people who will perform those tasks and from where they will do them. If you need help with this, we can help. Send me an email. Communicate with your employees. Establish early on that you are a credible source of information about your company preparedness. The common misconception that you don't want to frighten your employees by discussing this issue is incorrect. Your employees have already seen the news. It is important to show that you are closely following the issue and present the steps you are taking to prepare. Remind your employees about hand hygiene and cough/sneeze etiquette. Influenza spreads through the air by droplets. It is important to remind employees that hand washing and covering their cough/sneeze can go a long way to limit the spread of flu. There are good materials available on this that we can share with you.   Not preparing now would be a serious mistake should things worsen quickly.      If you have any questions or concerns that we can help you with, please feel free to reach out to me. My email is: sweiss@MedPrepGroup.com   To add your email address to our mailing list (if you received this when someone forwarded it to you) send an email to mailinglist@MedPrepGroup.com             Stuart Weiss, MD MedPrep Consulting Group LLC