TheFluMaster
Resident
Official: Ariz. better prepared than many states for pandemic flu
Mike Meyer
Cronkite News Service
Feb. 28, 2007 03:45 PM
Arizona is better prepared than many other states to handle a pandemic flu outbreak, though it's impossible to be entirely prepared for the worst possible scenario, a state health official told lawmakers Wednesday.
"Anybody that tells you that they're fully ready for a category five pandemic is being disingenuous or doesn't know that they're not ready," said Will Humble, deputy assistant director for the state Department of Health Services. "We're better prepared than we were, but readiness is more of a process than a finish line."
An example of a category five pandemic is the 1918 "Spanish flu," which killed more than 50 million people worldwide.
Briefing the House Committee on Health, Humble said Arizona received more than $5 million from the federal government for pandemic readiness.
He said Arizona is better prepared than many states because of laws granting the governor the authority to declare a state of emergency and mandate medical examinations, treatments and quarantines.
"When you're talking about pandemic readiness you sort of plan for the worst, and then hope for the best," Humble said.
Meanwhile, a pharmaceutical company spokesman told the committee that a pandemic is inevitable.
"We just don't know when it's going to happen and we don't know what it's going to look like," said Barbara Lussenhop of Roche Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used for treatment and prevention of the flu.
Lussenhop said the U.S. government has stockpiled enough Tamiflu to treat 15 percent of the population and has created a federal subsidy program to help states create their own stockpiles.
Antivirals are important because a vaccine can take up to six months to develop after a pandemic flu outbreak, she said.
Humble said antiviral medication is just one component of pandemic flu preparedness.
"Culturally, some Americans think that a pill can solve your problems because it's such an easy thing to do," he said. "Pandemic readiness isn't like that. There is no single pill or cure to make this thing better."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0228cns-pandemic28-ON.html
Mike Meyer
Cronkite News Service
Feb. 28, 2007 03:45 PM
Arizona is better prepared than many other states to handle a pandemic flu outbreak, though it's impossible to be entirely prepared for the worst possible scenario, a state health official told lawmakers Wednesday.
"Anybody that tells you that they're fully ready for a category five pandemic is being disingenuous or doesn't know that they're not ready," said Will Humble, deputy assistant director for the state Department of Health Services. "We're better prepared than we were, but readiness is more of a process than a finish line."
An example of a category five pandemic is the 1918 "Spanish flu," which killed more than 50 million people worldwide.
Briefing the House Committee on Health, Humble said Arizona received more than $5 million from the federal government for pandemic readiness.
He said Arizona is better prepared than many states because of laws granting the governor the authority to declare a state of emergency and mandate medical examinations, treatments and quarantines.
"When you're talking about pandemic readiness you sort of plan for the worst, and then hope for the best," Humble said.
Meanwhile, a pharmaceutical company spokesman told the committee that a pandemic is inevitable.
"We just don't know when it's going to happen and we don't know what it's going to look like," said Barbara Lussenhop of Roche Pharmaceuticals, which manufactures Tamiflu, an antiviral medication used for treatment and prevention of the flu.
Lussenhop said the U.S. government has stockpiled enough Tamiflu to treat 15 percent of the population and has created a federal subsidy program to help states create their own stockpiles.
Antivirals are important because a vaccine can take up to six months to develop after a pandemic flu outbreak, she said.
Humble said antiviral medication is just one component of pandemic flu preparedness.
"Culturally, some Americans think that a pill can solve your problems because it's such an easy thing to do," he said. "Pandemic readiness isn't like that. There is no single pill or cure to make this thing better."
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0228cns-pandemic28-ON.html