Influenza Update - December 21

Pandemic H1N1 Update Dr. Stuart B. Weiss INFLUENZA UPDATE Dec 21, 2009 SUBSCRIBE: Click button at bottom or send email to: sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com Influenza activity contines to fade down to seasonal levels in the U.S. Pandemic H1N1 activity in the U.S. and around most of the world continues to decline with some notable exceptions, namely India and parts of the Russian Federation. Current Situation: The CDC confirmed that the number of states reporting widespread influenza activity continues to decrease, from 14 states down to 11. The number of people visiting physicians in the US for influenza-like illness has decreased again this week. The number of pediatric deaths has decreased as well. The WHO reports that influenza activity has decreased or plateaued in much of the world with some exceptions: Europe: Activity is declining across Europe except in parts of southeast Europe and the Russian Federation. Asia: East - transmission remains active but declining. West & Central Asia - Increasing activity in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Activity in the Middle East have peaked. Southeast Asia: India, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives continue to show increasing flu intensity. Africa: Limited data shows continued activity across the continent (except in South Africa where it is summer) Southern Hemisphere: Little to no activity. Vaccine Update: The CDC reported that almost 100 millions doses of vaccine have been released. Approximately half of the states across the U.S. are relaxing their vaccination guidelines to include anyone who wishes to be vaccinated. Several scientists wrote that the U.S. should honor its commitment to donate 10% of its vaccine supply to poor third world countries. Secretary Sebelius said that the U.S. will honor its commitment. The WHO reports that it will donate vaccine to its first three recipients, Afghanistan, Azerbaijan and Mongolia. China's death toll leapt by more than 30% in recent days which is raising alarm with the approaching Lunar New Year or Spring holiday. This is the biggest and most important holiday and millions of people crowd the roadways, trains and airports to return home. HOUSEKEEPING ITEM: If you get this Alert through a mailing list and not directly from us, subscribe by clicking the button at the bottom or send an email to me at sbw1@MedPrepGroup.com ANALYSIS: Officials in the government continue to encourage everyone to get vaccinated as do I. As I wrote about a few weeks back, activity continues to be a problem in India so if you have business processes outsourced to India, make sure your contingency plans have been updated. We have much experience auditing these types of plans so if you need assistance, give us a call. ADVICE: Get vaccinated. It is a safe vaccine. Keep one eye on the virus looking out for a third wave. It is too early to tell if one will occur. Review your plans for offices in areas with intense or increasing influenza activity. TOOLS: Pandemic and Infectious Disease Plan Audits - Having outside experts review your pandemic plans may bring you new insight into planning areas that need work. Take this opportunity to review your pandemic and other infectious disease plans. Think about inviting us in to bring a new set of expert eyes to take a look at your plans. Corporate Exercises - Validating your plans through the use of well planned exercises remains an important tool in the business continuity toolkit. We are experts in developing and facilitating exercises customized to the needs of our clients. Virtual Medical Director - If you don't have a corporate medical director, our Virtual Medical Director program may be a good solution for you. Our Virtual Medical Director service provides you with 24 hour access to physicians and experts trained in emergency medicine, disaster medicine, business continuity, occupational health and mental health crisis management to give you situation updates, analysis and advice. We have affordable decision support plans that you can enroll in. Pandemic Planning Assistance - We have a policy matrix, policy toolkits, FAQ's, posters, employee educational materials, a trigger based action plan template . We can help you jump start your planning or take a look at your current plans with a fresh set of eyes. Not preparing now would be a serious mistake. 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 MedPrep Consulting Group is internationally recognized as a leader in pandemic, disaster and business continuity planning, training and exercising. We have resources and expertise that you can count on. Ask us about our Virtual Medical Director Program. Dr. Stuart Weiss is the CEO of MedPrep Consulting Group. For more information, visit www.MedPrepGroup.com Stuart Weiss, MD, CBCP MedPrep Consulting Group LLC