Pandemic poses obstacle not only to health ... but to commerce, services as well
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070708/OPINION03/707080318/1007/OPINION
By Amanda Newton
Special to The Times
For a few years now, experts have warned the public about a possible pandemic, maybe the avian flu, and the damage it will do to the community. In the aftermath of the globe-trotting Atlanta lawyer with drug resistant tuberculosis, the idea that disease can spread globally, very quickly, hit home.
Public health officials and employees of Homeland Security have been busy preparing the state and the public for a pandemic.
"This is a very real threat," warned State Health Officer Dr. Jimmy Guidry in a recent press release announcing the mailing of 1.6 million pandemic flu preparedness handbooks to Louisiana residents. "It is not a matter of 'if' a pandemic flu will strike, but a matter of 'when.' That's why we're arming the public now with the knowledge of how to prepare and protect themselves against a pandemic event that could quickly sweep the world."
Most residents should have received their handbook by now and, hopefully, they have read it. The handbook is designed to answer the most common questions and to serve as a guide in the event of a pandemic. It goes into detail about what to expect and gives simple steps to take to keep the flu from spreading.
Dee Wisenbaker, of Shreveport, is not sure she has received her pandemic preparedness handbook. She may have thrown it away. But Wisenbaker is glad that information is being sent out. She has read some information about avian flu, but does not think many people are ready to take the idea of a pandemic seriously.
"We won't take anything like that seriously until we hear true news stories about it actually occurring someplace that is relevant to us," Wisenbaker said.
Public services 'compromised'
"The number one message (of the handbook) is how someone can get ready — how to be prepared," said Doris Brown, public health executive director for the Louisiana Office of Public Health. "If we end up with a pandemic flu, how it would affect the community from the standpoint of if you have people out ill, then your public transportation may be compromised, schools might be compromised, restaurants, banks, stores"» So, if you are down 25 to 40 percent of your work force, these are the things that could happen as a result of a pandemic."
Gene Barattini, assistant director of operations at the Caddo-Bossier Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness said a pandemic, and the subsequent closures, will come in waves. The first wave may just require people to keep more frequent distance from each other, what is known as social distancing. During this wave, schools may still be open, but large crowds would not be allowed to gather, say for a Mardi Gras parade, for example.
When the pandemic reached total maximum exposure, then the school board and the office of public health would make the decision to close the schools and day cares, Barattini said.
"But it's not simple and not black and white," he said. "You could have a rural part of the region where it is hardly affecting at all and then you could have Dallas, where it is running rampant. It would be prudent to close the school system in Dallas, but maybe not close the school system in DeSoto Parish. You still would have to have a keying effect; if LSU-Baton Rouge was closed, and UNO in New Orleans and Tulane and maybe LSUS was closed, then probably Centenary, BPCC and Southern would close. I don't think it would be sporadic. For the good of the whole community it would be consistent. That is one of the things we are working on — to speak with one voice and to have one, at least in our own region, clear plan of action."
Beware second wave
It is believed the second wave of a pandemic will be stronger, more lethal and more impacting on the community. There would be a restricting of general assembly, large assemblies of people, during the second wave, Barattini said.
"Those closures will help knock down the spread of the pandemic," he said. "You could have a situation where there would be closure of major public functions. I don't know where in the time sequence casinos would close "» casinos would be in the cycle. Authority (to close casinos) would be in several ways: public health, and from public health to elected officials. The elected officials would key off the expertise of public health."
The experiences of hurricanes Katrina and Rita "were a great validation of this catastrophic planning," said Barattini. Just as during the hurricanes, there will not be enough room in the hospitals for all of the people who need medical attention during a pandemic. Schools cannot be used for medical centers because there is a good chance schools will reopen before everyone is fully recovered, he said.
Evacuation shelter ERs
During the hurricanes, a volunteer group of doctors, nurses, medical professionals and pharmacists set-up medical clinics in each of the evacuation shelters. These volunteers were able to treat illnesses without having people overwhelm emergency rooms. The emergency room rate here went up only 4 percent during the immediate period after the storm, while Baton Rouge's emergency room rate went up 125 percent, said Barattini.
That volunteer group of medical professionals is now up to 200 people and is called the Medial Reserve Corps. In the event of a pandemic, these volunteers will set-up clinics and through the media, people suffering from a pandemic flu will be directed to those clinics, said Barattini.
Please be redundant, please
Barattini said the emphasis his agency has been trying to get across is that people need to have a plan. His agency has been talking to leaders in private and public businesses, non-profits and churches to make sure these places have plans in place and understand how important redundancy in job training is.
"We ask if someone knows these people's job — redundancy," he said. "In our office, we have four emergency managers. We make sure every one of us can do each others minimum, essential emergency tasks. That is the key. That is what the hospitals are working on too."
"I would say we are not unprepared," said Gene Eddy, SporTran manager. "We haven't done any drills; there is nothing you can drill for. It is a matter of having an outline of a plan. You can't say what will happen exactly. You can't say exactly the impact it will have on you or your passengers; how will their behavior change."
Eddy said he would assume a pandemic would impact bus revenues, but that is not as much of a concern as the safety of the passengers and employees.
"We are one of the basic services, but it (continued operation) would depend on the spread (of the flu), the vectors of infection and things like that."
In the event of a pandemic, employers should encourage people who can work from home to do so and they should be open to creative shift work. The more people who can work from home, the less exposure there is through person-to-person contact, and business can still operate on a reduced level.
Communication vital
Jerre Perry, public health region administrator for Region 7 of the Office of Public Health, said her office would be responsible for communication during a pandemic and would get the message out to people about what they should be doing, depending on the circumstances.
"For a situation like flu, with no vaccine, we would teach people the precautions to take such as washing their hands, avoiding big crowds and staying home if possible," said Perry.
"As far as the first responders and the people who have a responsibility for dealing with this kind of thing, I feel pretty good," she added. "I feel we are pretty well prepared."
Perry said she hopes residents will read the pandemic flu preparedness handbook they received and will file it away somewhere for future reference.
"If they will just read it, a lot of it they will recall in the case of an emergency," she said. "I think it is really designed to provide helpful information to households. If we do have a pandemic, everyone is going to kind of have to take responsibility for their own well-being.
"I think a lot of people feel that this will happen to someone else and not to me. I think people are aware that it can happen, and, like we say, will happen. We just don't know when. It may not be this year. It may be five years down the road."
