Plan developed for influenza pandemic
Should a pandemic strike the U.S., Brookings and SDSU have a plan to combat it.
Meghann Rise
Issue date: 4/29/09 Section: News
Five major organizations in Brookings County have come together and have been preparing the community for a possible influenza pandemic.
In 2006, the City of Brookings, the Brookings Health System, SDSU, the Brookings chapter of the American Red Cross and Brookings County Emergency Management partnered up to discuss preparing Brookings for a possible influenza pandemic.
According to the Center for Disease Control's Web site, a pandemic occurs when a strain of the influenza virus emerges and is able to infect and be passed easily between humans. Because the virus is new, humans have little to no immunity against it, potentially causing a worldwide epidemic, or pandemic. The world now faces influenza A (H5N1), also known as the avian flu.
Caused by avian influenza viruses, avian flu occurs naturally among birds. However, this virus is highly contagious among birds, and can infect domestic birds like chickens, ducks and turkeys and kill them. The U.S. poultry industry has been proactive in testing their poultry, says professor Kim Cassel.
"The industry found a low virulent strain of the virus in a flock of chickens," Cassel said "They didn't take any chances and killed the chickens."
The fear is not the presence of the virus in birds; it is the switch from bird-to-human infection, to human-to-human infection. According to the CDC's Web site, there are three known subtypes of the virus circulating in humans. Influenza viruses are constantly changing and could potentially evolve into a virus that will spread easily among humans.
Cassel said the avian flu is circulating in many countries. Indonesia has an 80 percent mortality rate, and 66 cases have been documented in Egypt. The virus also appears to be skipping the older and younger generations, which is abnormal for most influenza outbreaks.
"If a pandemic breaks out," Cassel said, "the generation that will be most affected is the 20 to 40-year-olds."
Throughout history, there has been a pandemic nearly every 100 years, and the last serious epidemic was the 1918 Spanish flu. The Spanish flu claimed the lives of millions, and spread quickly between humans.
In 2006, the City of Brookings, the Brookings Health System, SDSU, the Brookings chapter of the American Red Cross and Brookings County Emergency Management partnered up to discuss preparing Brookings for a possible influenza pandemic.
According to the Center for Disease Control's Web site, a pandemic occurs when a strain of the influenza virus emerges and is able to infect and be passed easily between humans. Because the virus is new, humans have little to no immunity against it, potentially causing a worldwide epidemic, or pandemic. The world now faces influenza A (H5N1), also known as the avian flu.
Caused by avian influenza viruses, avian flu occurs naturally among birds. However, this virus is highly contagious among birds, and can infect domestic birds like chickens, ducks and turkeys and kill them. The U.S. poultry industry has been proactive in testing their poultry, says professor Kim Cassel.
"The industry found a low virulent strain of the virus in a flock of chickens," Cassel said "They didn't take any chances and killed the chickens."
The fear is not the presence of the virus in birds; it is the switch from bird-to-human infection, to human-to-human infection. According to the CDC's Web site, there are three known subtypes of the virus circulating in humans. Influenza viruses are constantly changing and could potentially evolve into a virus that will spread easily among humans.
Cassel said the avian flu is circulating in many countries. Indonesia has an 80 percent mortality rate, and 66 cases have been documented in Egypt. The virus also appears to be skipping the older and younger generations, which is abnormal for most influenza outbreaks.
"If a pandemic breaks out," Cassel said, "the generation that will be most affected is the 20 to 40-year-olds."
Throughout history, there has been a pandemic nearly every 100 years, and the last serious epidemic was the 1918 Spanish flu. The Spanish flu claimed the lives of millions, and spread quickly between humans.
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