Washington, D.C., May 8, 2006 – The American Public Health Association (APHA) today reminds Americans of the importance of preparing for pandemic influenza and other health emergencies. While avian flu has not been reported in the United States and no immediate threat of a pandemic exists, APHA raises the following questions to encourage Americans and their families to take some prudent first steps in preparing for a pandemic or other major event.
Public health experts are available to discuss these and other considerations with the news media:
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What should you do if your children’s school or child care center closes because of an emergency condition?
- How are you notified?
- How does my school or child care center handle contagious diseases?
- Do I have a personal plan to ensure appropriate care for my children if the schools are closed for a prolonged period of time?
- What would you do if grocery stores and pharmacies closed?
- Do you have an emergency supply of water and food? Have you stored foods that are both nonperishable and appropriate for any medical conditions in your household?
- Do you have a written list of your medications and allergies?
- Have you identified ways to obtain an extra supply of your prescription medications or have you planned to receive your medications in the mail?
- Do you know what your employer’s continuity of operations plan is?
- What is your role in the plan?
- What is your company’s sick leave policy in an emergency?
- Would you be able to work from home if requested?
- If your job cannot be done from home, what are the things you must do to ensure you can comply with the company plan?
- How will you provide for your family’s health care needs?
- Have you identified what will be needed to care for family members at home?
- Are your family’s immunizations up-to-date?
- Do you have knowledge of your family’s medical history and medical providers’ contact information?
- Have you made provisions for family members with special needs, such as disabilities?
Tomorrow, May 9, the ABC television network will air a made-for-TV movie titled “Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America.” The movie follows an outbreak of the H5N1 avian flu virus from its origins in a Hong Kong market through its mutation into a pandemic virus that becomes transmittable from human to human.
APHA has two experts available to discuss preparedness planning considerations and pandemic scenarios. APHA executive director Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, is the past secretary of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene where he worked on preparedness plans and was involved in the response to emergencies, such as the 2001 anthrax attacks, and played a key role in developing Maryland’s bioterrorism plan. Linda Young Landesman, DrPH, MSW, is the author of Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide, a guide to public health interventions in the days immediately preceding and following emergencies, such as epidemics, and has more than 30 years of experience in health care, social services and emergency preparedness.
To arrange an interview, contact Sabrina Jones at (202) 777-2509 or sabrina.jones@apha.org.
APHA has additional materials related to pandemic influenza available at www.apha.org/preparedness/influenza.htm and www.apha.org/preparedness/avian.htm.