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Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

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  • #16
    Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

    IronOreHopper: I found listed industry - aggregate (rock crushing for construction), mining facilities, agriculture in the Cache Valley in Utah.

    Agriculture includes chicken hatchling and turkey farms, as well as dairy cattle operations and vegetable processing plants. Oh, and bee-keeping.

    Other types of biosecurity hazards:

    Utah has already had problems with Newcastle virus outbreaks in turkey farms (mostly further south), dating back to the '70s; the disease is now endemic in marshy areas in central Utah that attract millions of migrating birds each year. This suggests that poultry in the area might be prone to AI infection as well.

    Hint: recent outbreaks of bird cholera in the Great Salt Lake area to the south of Cache Valley, reported in late 2007, didn't occur at random.

    The Cache County fire department has jurisdiction over chemical hazards in the Wellsville area; this chemical emergency response group would be linked by database to State and Federal agencies that regulate and monitor hazardous wastes and processes.

    ~~~~~

    The State of Utah has a Pandemic Preparedness Plan.



    A pandemic public health primer, circa 2006, clearly states the need for local community and county participation in pandemic awareness/planning.

    http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/ADMIN/utah...per_120406.ppt.

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    • #17
      Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

      Many thanks to Oracle. I think a similar research work should be expanded as possible here and in other part of blogosphere and indipendent media. It is important to know the bio-chemichal hazards present in our territories as part of preparedness activities for mass-cusualties events such as pandemic influenza.
      The point is: are these facilities enough protected from power failure, workforce shortage, supply failure and perhaps civil unrests?
      A chemichal leakage could wipe out a community if no promptly contained (I remember the 'Seveso dioxin disaster' in Italy in the '70). Recently, a gas leakage from heavy-water installation in Pakistan left two deaths and more intoxicated, as reported by Xinhua and CBS.

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      • #18
        Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

        Deadline passes for Tamiflu orders
        By Charles GeraciThe deadline to turn in flu vaccine orders to the Bear River Health Department has passed, and the agency will be sending them in to the state shortly.
        Six entities in Cache County ? including three cities and three public health/safety agencies ? are purchasing Tamiflu pills to safeguard against a flu pandemic, should one occur in the next seven years.
        The Health Department had previously sent letters to municipalities in Cache, Box Elder and Rich counties ? as well as local hospitals, fire and police agencies ? attempting to gauge the level of interest for purchasing Tamiflu at discounted rates.
        In Cache County, Hyrum, Wellsville and River Heights ultimately decided they wanted in. Of the three, Wellsville has ordered the most, with 41 treatment courses and 20 preventative courses at a total cost of $4,099.
        Don Hartle, Wellsville?s city manager, told The Herald Journal earlier this year that the purpose of the purchase was to keep various city employees and emergency responders able to perform their duties and enable the city to carry out routine functions during a pandemic.
        ?When people flush their toilet, they expect the sewer to leave their home,? Hartle said. ?They expect to turn on the water and get water. It doesn?t matter if public works or the mayor is sick, they still feel that service needs to be provided.?
        The Bear River Health Department is purchasing $19,246 worth of Tamiflu, and the Cache County Jail is spending $18,975, with that money coming from funds the jail collects from inmates. The Logan City Fire Department is also buying Tamiflu.
        ?The purchase is being made by the Logan City Fire Department,? said Logan Fire Chief Mark Meaker. ?However, the materials purchased will go to not only protect Logan City firefighters, but also the ambulance drivers who work on the Cache County Emergency Medical Services ambulances out in Hyrum and Smithfield.?
        Keith Larsen, emergency services director for the Health Department, said the agency would be submitting the orders to the Utah Department of Health by the end of the week.
        ?We?ll send the orders to the state, and they?ve told us that they?ll get them to us as quick as they get them from the feds,? said Larsen.
        The Tamiflu pills have a shelf life of seven years. If no declared pandemic occurs within that time, the pills ? which the department will store in a secure location ? will be discarded.
        ?(If) they expire, they?re no good ? we chuck ?em,? Larsen said. ?So it?s like a seven-year insurance policy.?
        Some officials in the county have questioned whether the Tamiflu pills would be effective against the particular flu strain that could emerge in a pandemic.
        ?Right now, this is the best medication we have to treat flu,? Larsen said. ?If it?s still going to be that effective if it?s a pandemic strain, we don?t know. But the best science we have is that this should be very helpful.?


        http://hjnews.townnews.com/articles/...ews/news03.txt

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        • #19
          Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

          “Right now, this is the best medication we have to treat flu,” Larsen said. “If it’s still going to be that effective if it’s a pandemic strain, we don’t know. But the best science we have is that this should be very helpful.”

          Yes, that's the reason why buying Tamiflu - because it was primary recommended by the WHO guidelines.

          If somebody thinks that's a corp. bus. reasons, it's primary an WHO duty to change the guidelines to oust oseltamivir from the worldwide suggested primary stocking list if it's scientificaly proved as a non-working med.

          Second, about other better new antivirals (peramivir, etc.) - there are not enaugh available quantities for now.

          A small city that buy any antiviral was at least trying to do something.
          The big city that still don't buy anything is an much worst example.

          Somebody can still named it snake oil.
          But, frankly, what city major would send police/firefight./health personnel in the middle of a plague without any medicine, or vaccine?
          That way the "necessary ones" will have a pill (or an prepand. vacc.) when they will must going to work.

          The only alternative can be an full hazmat way of working, with decontamination places, special vehicles, and single dormitory rooms.
          How THAT will cost?
          Apart the police/fire/health. would be the other civilians able to work this way?

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          • #20
            Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

            Cache County American Red cross


            <table width="508"><tbody><tr> <td colspan="3">Links to information on Pandemic Flu. Each will open in a new browser window. </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td> </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="43"> </td> <td width="410">Printable Information (PDF Format) </td> <td width="39"> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Fact Sheet: Pandemic Influenza </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Fact Sheet: Pandemic Influenza Family Preparedness - English </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Fact Sheet: Pandemic Influenze Family Preparedness - Spanish </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Brochure: Home Care for Pandemic Flu - English </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Brochure: Home Care for Pandemic Flu - Spanish </td> <td> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> </td> <td>Coping and Emotional Well-Being



            Every 8 minutes the American Red Cross responds to an emergency. Support the Red Cross. Join us today by making a donation.

            </td></tr></tbody></table>

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            • #21
              Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

              FY 2008 Awards
              <!-- Level 1 -->

              Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools Discretionary Grant Program
              (CFDA #84.184E)
              Fiscal Year 2008

              Grant Recipients
              The purpose of the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) discretionary grant program is to provide funds for Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) to improve and strengthen their emergency management plans.



              The REMS discretionary grant program will enable school districts to develop improved plans that address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.



              In reviewing and improving their plans, districts are required to work with community partners that include law enforcement, local government, public safety, public health, and mental health.


              Plans must include training for school staff and students, a plan for communicating emergency management policies and procedures to parents, and must support implementation of the National Incident Management System.



              In addition, LEAs must take into consideration special needs populations in their districts as they work on their emergency management plans.


              Districts also commit to developing a written plan designed to prepare the LEA for a possible infectious disease outbreak, such as influenza pandemic.



              Typical activities included in grantee programs include reviewing and revising existing emergency management plans, conducting vulnerability assessments of schools and other district facilities, providing training, organizing tabletop exercises, and engaging in crisis simulation drills.









              Cache County School District Award: $248,710

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              • #22
                Re: Utah - Wellsville Buys Tamiflu for Key City Employees for possible Pandemic Flu

                Savannah Selected for a National Project to Encourage Pandemic Flu Preparedness

                SAVANNAH, GA? When the next flu pandemic hits, Savannah will be even better prepared to protect its community thanks to a new initiative
                called ?Take the Lead.?

                Savannah is one of only 9 locations across the country chosen for this initiative by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). These 9 locations, called ?col laboratories,? will get extra federal support to prepare their communties for a flu pandemic, and then will serve as preparedness models for the rest ofthe country............

                The 9 collaboratories are Savannah; Seattle; San Diego; Cache County, Utah; Ft. Yates/Sisseton, North Dakota/South Dakota; Burlington, Vermont; St. Louis; Tuscarawas County, Ohio and Wilmington,Delaware.

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