Napolitano Expecting Big Influx of New H1N1 Cases
September 2, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday that people should expect “a big influx” of swine flu cases this fall and prepare as best they can. “The best thing we all can do are the very simple things, the washing of the hands, the coughing into the sleeve,” Napolitano said in a nationally broadcast interview. ” … We’re in all likelihood going to have them (new infections) before the vaccine is available.”
Napolitano was among a host of Cabinet officers who briefed President Barack Obama Tuesday on the federal government’s preparations and planning for the fall. Another of those Cabinet members, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, said in a separate interview that it’s critically important to keep schools open and education uninterrupted.
“We got a little bit lucky” in the last school year, he said, because the H1N1 didn’t surface until very near the end of the academic year.
“We’re not going to be so lucky this year,” Duncan added, “so the more we’re prepared, the more we’re talking … the better we’re going to be able to handle this as a country, the more we’re going to be able to keep our schools open.”
There have been over 550 deaths in the United States from H1N1 and a scientific advisory panel recently sent the White House a report saying it was possible that anywhere from 30 percent to half the population could catch what doctors call “2009 H1N1″ and that it was also possible there could be between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths.
“Everything we’ve seen in the U.S. and everything we’ve seen around the world suggests we won’t see that kind of number if the virus doesn’t change,” Dr. Thomas Frieden, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a C-SPAN interview last week.
In her interview Wednesday on NBC’s “Today” show, Napolitano was asked why the government isn’t requiring all Americans to get the swine flu vaccine, once it’s available. “Because health programs generally aren’t mandatory, and you get pushback to that,” she replied.
H1N1 Flu Serious Health Threat To U.S.- White House
The H1N1 flu poses a serious health threat to the United States, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology said in a report released on Monday.
“The report says the current strain ‘poses a serious health threat’ to the nation. The issue is not that the virus is more deadly than other flu strains, but rather that it is likely to infect more people than usual because it is a new strain against which few people have immunity,” the White House said.
U.S. Asks Businesses To Prepare For H1N1
The federal government is urging employers to offer flexible sick leave policies as the nation braces for a second wave of the H1N1 influenza pandemic. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano offered guidance to businesses on how to prevent the spread of H1N1, also known as swine flu, and to prepare for a major outbreak.
They stressed allowing employees who exhibit flu symptoms to go home and to stay home until at least 24 hours have passed since their fevers subsided. They also said businesses should consider eliminating policies that require a doctor’s note or other proof to justify a sick day and that employers should be prepared to operate with fewer people.
“It’s more than just a significant health issue. It has the potential to affect every aspect of our lives,’’ Locke said. “It will take Americans from every walk of life pulling together and doing our part to mount an effective response.’’
As the first pandemic in more than 40 years, it has the potential to cause massive disruptions for businesses, schools, and governments. The United States and other northern nations have been scrambling to prepare for a resurgence of the virus by stockpiling flu treatments and vaccines.
National Guard Drills For Worse Case H1N1 Scenario
Oxford Hills Comprehensive High School will be the site of a National Guard riot control drill Thursday morning to prepare in the event of a panic over distribution of serum to treat the swine flu.
The school on Route 26 at the Paris-Norway town line has been designated by state officials as a distribution site for the H1N1 flu vaccine. The drill is to prepare for a worst-case scenario should the serum have to be transported from Augusta and people rush to get it.
On Thursday morning, four or five National Guard Humvees will travel from Augusta to Paris with vials of fake serum. The National Guardsmen will take on the roles of panicked citizens and military police and practice what they would do, such as using tear gas, in the case of a riot.
“This is just a component of moving the stuff from point A to B,” said Oxford County Emergency Management Agency Director Scott Parker. The plan will be put into place only if needed, he said.
Plans were developed in April to have vials of serum sent from the federal government to Augusta, Parker said. From Augusta, the supplies will be transported to designated distribution centers.
During the April conference, concerns were raised about a possible out-of-control rush on the serum, Parker said. Because of that concern, Gov. John Baldacci and Gen. John Libby, adjutant general of the Maine National Guard, agreed that a plan should be devised to quell such a disturbance.
Local police chiefs have also been involved in the planning, Parker said. In a real event, local police would be in charge of security once the serum arrives in Paris. “We own it. We’re in charge of providing security,” he said.
via National Guard drill at high school to prepare for possible H1N1 riot | Sun Journal.
Level 6 / Phase 6 Flu Pandemic Declared By WHO
June 11, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
World Health Organization (WHO) officials declared a pandemic of H1N1 influenza on Thursday, two months after the first cases of the new flu virus were reported in Mexico. It is the first flu pandemic in 41 years, since the 1968 Hong Kong flu.
The WHO’s decision to raise the pandemic alert to Phase 6, the highest level, was based on specific criteria, most significantly that the disease is now widespread, sustaining transmission in more than two regions around the world — including the Americas (Mexico and the U.S., which have so far borne the greatest brunt of the new flu) and Australia, where cases have risen sharply. The latest data show there are nearly 30,000 cases in 74 countries, with 144 confirmed deaths.
Swine Flu Pandemic – WHO Preparing To Announce?
June 9, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
The World Health Organization is preparing to declare a swine flu pandemic, officials hinted Tuesday, saying that the goal now is to prevent countries and populations from panicking.
“One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to panic if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation,” Feiji Fukuda, WHO’s acting assistant director-general, said in a media call Tuesday.
“We know the virus is spreading and we are now seeing activity picking up in a number of countries. We know that we are getting closer to probably a pandemic situation,” Fukuda said.
The number of countries reporting lab confirmed cases of human swine flu stood at 73 Tuesday, with 26,563 cases, including 249 deaths.
Fukuda says WHO “has been working extremely hard in terms of preparing countries, preparing populations for what a potential move to Phase 6 would entail.” The virus continues to be sensitive to anti-viral drugs, he says. The majority of infections are occurring in younger people, under age 60, which is different than normal season flu.
WHO is concerned about the “disproportionate number” of serious cases occurring in the outbreak of HIN1 at St. Theresa Point, a remote First Nation in northern Manitoba, where hundreds of people have reported symptoms in the community of 3,200 and at least 20 have been treated in hospital.
These are observations of concern to us,” Fukuda said.
WHO Says Swine Flu Verging on Pandemic
June 2, 2009 by national
Filed under Emergency Preparedness
The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is “getting closer” to declaring a global outbreak of the swine flu virus as the infection appears to be taking hold outside of North America.
WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths.
The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the United States, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.
“We still are waiting for evidence of really widespread community activity in these countries, and so it’s fair to say that they are in transition and are not quite there yet, which is why we are not in phase 6 yet,” Fukuda said.
Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO’s scale, signaling a pandemic _ a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is “at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6,” Fukuda said.
WHO is now debating whether to add a second measure that indicates how dangerous the virus is _ rather than just how widespread _ after several countries raised concerns that declaring a global pandemic could cause mass confusion and panic even though it is still unclear how dangerous the virus will be.
Some nations have already imposed costly trade and travel barriers, “drastic actions” that Fukuda said WHO would seek to prevent.
Diesease And Terrorism In A Connected World
April 30, 2009 by national
Filed under Homeland Security News
A complacent America, growing ever less concerned about the threat of pandemic bird flu, was startled last week by the sudden appearance of a major epidemic of swine flu in neighboring Mexico. Cases were soon reported from New York, California, Texas and Ohio, as well as France, New Zealand, Canada and Britain. So far, the apprehension and confusion about what to expect resembles the early days of the anthrax attacks of 2001, when a fine powder of weaponized anthrax bacteria showed up in the U.S. mail. Then, as now, health authorities were taken completely by surprise, and the public panicked out of all proportion to the actual threat.
The similarities between the flu and biological terrorism are not coincidental. In recent years the world has changed in ways that have made the threats of natural and man-made epidemics more and more alike. As we deal with the increasing prospects of a bioterrorist attack, we are also struggling with the challenge of emerging diseases: AIDS, pandemic strains of influenza and the “mad-cow disease” that terrified Britain only a decade ago. The way these threats unfold—and the responses they call for—are becoming ever more similar.
The central driver is the increasingly interconnected world we live in.
Swine Flu – Mexico Shuts Government Says Pandemic Imminent
April 30, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
Mexico’s president told citizens on Wednesday to stay home for a five-day partial shutdown of the economy, after the World Health Organization raised its alert level and said a swine flu pandemic was imminent.
In his first televised address since the crisis erupted last week, President Felipe Calderon told Mexicans to stay home with their families. The country will suspend non-essential work and services, including some government ministries, from May 1-5.
“There is no safer place than your own home to avoid being infected with the flu virus,” Calderon said.
Mexico is taking the drastic step after another 17 deaths were potentially linked to swine flu, bringing the total to as many as 176.
Essential services such as transport, supermarkets, trash collection and hospitals will remain open.
Swine Flu – Pandemic Alert level Raised To 5
April 29, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The World Health Organization raised its pandemic alert to 5, its second-highest level Wednesday, indicating the outbreak of swine flu that originated in Mexico is nearing widespread human infection.
Dr. Margaret Chan, the U.N. agency’s director-general, said the decision means that all countries should “immediately” activate pandemic preparedness plans.
“This change to a higher phase of alert is a signal to governments, to ministries of health and other ministries, to the pharm industry and the business community that certain actions now should be taken with increased urgency and at an accelerated pace,” Chan said.
The announcement came as the number of people infected with swine flu increased rapidly across the world, and health officials scrambled to get more information about the virus — which has no vaccine.
Phase 5 alert means there is sustained human to human spread in at least two countries. It also signals that efforts to produce a vaccine will be ramped up.
Swine Flu – First U.S. Death Is Reported
April 29, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
American authorities confirmed the first death outside of Mexico from swine flu on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the disease continued to rise in Europe.
President Obama, in a morning news conference, called on local authorities to be vigilant in reporting new suspected cases, and called on schools to consider closing temporarily if a confirmed case was reported among its students.
[...]
Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that the first American death of the disease was a 23-month-old child in Texas. He gave no other details about the child. The death was confirmed by President Obama, who said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the child’s family.
Swine Flu – World Counting Down To Pandemic Says Top Virologist
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
A Chinese virologist who helped fight SARS and bird flu warned on Monday of a possible swine flu pandemic that the most populous countries in Asia, China and India, would be ill-prepared to handle.
“We are counting down to a pandemic,” said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the civet cat.
“I think the spread of this virus in humans cannot possibly be contained within a short time … there are already cases in almost every region. The picture is changing every moment.”
Guan, who has been studying and tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus ever since it was discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997, said there would be “many problems” if swine flu reached China and India, “where populations are so dense and health infrastructure is still insufficient.”
The virus, which carries swine, avian and human DNA and the designation H1N1, has already killed up to 103 people in Mexico, infected 20 in the United States and six in Canada.
There are many questions surrounding this virus, such as why it appears milder in the United States and deadlier in Mexico.
“It may seem weaker for now in the United States, but we do not know if it will get more virulent when it goes to another place as it mutates constantly,” said Guan.
Mexico Swine Flu Death Toll Rises To 103
April 27, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The probable death toll from a swine flu epidemic in Mexico has reached 103 people, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova announced.
The minister said on national television that the number of those hospitalized due to the epidemic stood at about 400.
The previous probable death toll, announced Saturday, stood at 81 confirmed and suspected swine flu fatalities.
Meanwhile, the number of cases under observation has reached 1,614, up from 1,324, according to the minister.
Swine Flu – U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency
April 26, 2009 by national
Filed under National Interest
The United States has activated an emergency plan to combat swine flu as the Obama administration announced measures Sunday to contain the sometimes deadly virus.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the strain of swine flu and is prepared to distribute a quarter of the U.S. stockpile of 50 million doses of anti-viral medications in places around the country where swine flu has been located or may be expected to spread, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a briefing at the White House.
Travel advisories have not been issued by the State Department, Napolitano said, nor is the United States going to screen passengers on flights arriving from Mexico. She said funds have been freed up in case a larger response is needed.
Hand-washing, mask-wearing and other measures will help prevent the spread, Napolitano said explaining how the public can help slow potential contaminations.
“If you are sick, stay home,” Napolitano said. “Take all of those reasonable measures that will help us mitigate and contain” the illness.
People who are ill should not go on airplanes, to school or other places, added Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the CDC.
Besser said the United States is working with the World Health Organization, Canada and Mexico as well as other organizations to reduce the spread of the virus, which appears to have originated in Mexico and has resulted in up to 81 deaths there.
