Maine's flu Web site

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http://www.maineflu.gov/

Welcome to Maine's flu Web site.

This interagency site is designed to provide a single source for all information
related to avian, pandemic, and seasonal influenza in Maine.

[Mellie]

Maine MSM's take on the Bird Flu Movie

Experts Mixed On Bird Flu Movie

By News 8 WMTW
POSTED: 3:24 pm EDT May 9, 2006
UPDATED: 7:29 pm EDT May 9, 2006


<!--startindex-->AUGUSTA, Maine -- On the same day the state rolled out its Web site, ABC Television is airing a made-for-TV movie dramatizing what might happen if the avian flu were to make it to the United States. <hr> Join WMTW.com's Live Simul-Chat Beginning At 8 p.m. <hr>In order to learn whether "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu In America" was accurate, News 8 asked state health and animal experts to watch the movie.

The officials had mixed reviews of the film.

On one hand, they were critical of what they called "overdramatization" of some of the scenes, saying that the moviemakers took the worst-case scenario and crossed a line, possibly prompting fear and confusion.

But on the other hand, they said that the movie will spark conversations and future planning, and that's a good thing.Dr. Don Hoenig, the state's veterinarian, has been studying the avian flu since the 1980s.

He pointed to a scene depicting dead, wrapped bodies being dumped into a massive landfill."I think it's a stretch, yeah," Hoenig told News 8.

He also said that the fictional governor in the movie -- who goes underground so that he doesn't catch the bird flu -- also fails the straight-face test."

The fact that a political leader feels it necessary to wall himself off from the rest of the public just seemed to me to be totally unrealistic," Hoenig said.Lynette Miller, the communications director for the Maine Emergency Management Agency, said the public should know the worst-case scenario."

If they can leave the dramatization aside and understand that this is a potential situation --we hope unlikely, but it could happen -- and take away from this wanting to know more about the facts, wanting to know more about what kind of planning they should be doing for themselves and their business, then that will be a very positive thing," she said.

The state's public health director, Dr. Dora Ann Mills, separated fact from fiction.She said, "First of all, avian flu is not here in American yet. It will very likely get here some time this calendar year. Avian is in birds right now. It may or may not become a pandemic -- that is an epidemic in people. If it does become a pandemic, then certainly the movie portrays what could happen, but no one has a crystal ball. And if it were to become a pandemic, no one knows for sure exactly how it would impact us and our society."

In the meantime, the state of Maine is making it easier for citizens to become experts on the avian flu.

A group of public and private organizations have teamed up to create a one-of-a-kind Web site, which Gov. John Baldacci unveiled on Tuesday at the State House.The site has information about the avian flu, seasonal flu and pandemic influenza, as well as tips on protection against the flu virus.

Lynette Miller said that it's the group collaboration that will prepare Maine for a possible outbreak.Miller told News 8, "This truly is a partnership, and I'm proud to say we're among the leaders in the country in the partnership that has come together. And in any emergency, that's where our strength comes from.

"The site also has links to other useful sites, including the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.<!--stopindex-->

Copyright 2006 by WMTW.