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Mon Apr 23, 2:58 PM ET
To: HEALTH EDITORS
Contact: James VanLandingham of Ron Sachs Communications, +1-850-222-1996, for The Coalition to Prepare Florida Now
TALLAHASSEE, Fla., April 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- A coalition of frontline health care providers, first responders and public health experts is urging legislators to prepare Florida against Pandemic Avian Flu.
The Coalition to Prepare Florida Now, composed of the Professional Firefighters of Florida, the Florida College of Emergency Physicians, Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Larry Bush, and former Florida State Health Officer Dr. Charles Mahan, warned that lawmakers must take action to ensure Florida is not left unprepared when an Avian Flu outbreak strikes the United States.
The H5N1 virus, commonly known as Avian Flu, has already made the leap from wild birds to poultry, and has now sickened humans. As of March, the virus has infected 277 humans, resulting in 167 deaths - a 60 percent fatality rate. The World Health Organization fears the virus will continue to mutate and eventually spread from human to human. Once this happens, experts say, an international Pandemic killing millions will become inevitable.
"During the last Pandemic flu outbreak, the 1918 Spanish Flu, the virus infected a fifth of the world's population and killed 20 to 40 million people, including an estimated 675,000 Americans," said Dr. Larry Bush, an infectious disease specialist who treated victims of the 2001 Anthrax attacks in Palm Beach County. "It's difficult to overstate the threat Pandemic Flu represents, or the urgency with which we must prepare for and counter this threat."
A major independent report recently released by the non-partisan Trust for America's Health, financed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, warned that states most reliant on the entertainment and tourism industries would suffer the worst financial damage. According to the study, Florida's GDP would drop 5.74 percent, or $38.7 billion, during a Pandemic, the report projected. Worse, the report predicts Pandemic Avian Flu would infect 5,254,000 Floridians and kill 149,000 in our state.
"These numbers speak for themselves: the risk of inaction and under- preparedness could be catastrophic," said Dr. Charles Mahan, "Especially when you consider our state's role in international tourism and as a transport hub linking North and South America, such a Pandemic could easily migrate to Florida, in a short time, from almost anywhere in the world."
Fortunately, Mahan said, we are not defenseless. Antiviral drugs can be very effective in mitigating the severity of the flu, and they represent our best available frontline defense. That's why the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommends stockpiling enough antivirals to treat a quarter of our country's population. To accomplish this goal, The Bush Administration and Congress is partnering with states by providing funding to subsidize the state's portion of the cost of purchasing antiviral courses.
"We won't learn that Avian Flu has reached the United States until a man or woman walks into an emergency department with what seems like a bad case of the flu," said Dr. David Siegel, president of the Florida College of Emergency Physicians. "By then, that virus will likely have already infected others, and it is imperative that doctors and public health professionals will have access to these vital drugs that represent our best weapons against this disease."
In a letter to the Florida Legislature, The Coalition to Prepare Florida Now called on lawmakers to support Gov. Crist's recommendation to adequately fund Florida's defense against Avian Flu. To its credit, the Florida House of Representatives has budgeted $6 million to fund a portion of the antiviral medications needed to protect Floridians from Avian Flu. This is largely thanks to the leadership of Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fernandina Beach, Chair of the House Healthcare Council, and House leadership. Nevertheless, this amount represents less than a quarter of the amount requested by Gov. Crist to fund this priority.
"Just as the state has come to rely on insurance to mitigate the effects of calamitous hurricanes, Florida should prepare for the possibility of Pandemic Flu by stockpiling needed drugs as an insurance policy against disaster," said Randy Touchton of the Professional Firefighters of Florida. "We hope the Legislature chooses to prepare Florida, and give our state's first responders the tools they need to meet this challenge head-on and save the lives of countless Floridians."
SOURCE The Coalition to Prepare Florida Now