Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.businessnorth.com/kuws.asp?RID=2697
News From 91.3 KUWS
Plan in place for local flu pandemic
12/19/2008
You can never be completely ready for a pandemic but after seven years of planning, local governments say they have firm plans in place in case the avian flu strikes. Mike Simonson reports.
Health officials say the bird flu is inevitable and if it hits it'll either infect or kill one in three people, disabling a community's ability to deliver basic services. The flu pandemic is a worst case scenario so all Wisconsin counties have made it a priority. Douglas County Health Officer Deb Clausen says they're still holding pandemic training and planning meetings.
"We have many irons in the fire now for addressing such an event should it ever enter the United States. Wisconsin has a plan in place that addresses all local county and tribe for vaccine distribution and also anti-viral medication distribution."
That includes not just hospitals and medical clinics, but churches, civic groups, even animal shelters for pets. Wisconsin Health Services Spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis says the waning interest in the bird flu pandemic hasn't slowed their work to get ready for it.
"It's certainly not a backburner issue for us. We have continual preparedness, it happens all the time. And it's really a continuum. We've created some plans in 2001. We continue to test those plans both at the state level and local health departments and other partners. We take the lessons learned, we re-work the plans and we test them again and try for different scenarios."
Marquis says the pandemic plan has evolved into an all-hazards plan and was used in part to respond to this year's massive flooding in Wisconsin.
For information about your community's plan go to www.pandemic.wis.gov
News From 91.3 KUWS
Plan in place for local flu pandemic
12/19/2008
You can never be completely ready for a pandemic but after seven years of planning, local governments say they have firm plans in place in case the avian flu strikes. Mike Simonson reports.
Health officials say the bird flu is inevitable and if it hits it'll either infect or kill one in three people, disabling a community's ability to deliver basic services. The flu pandemic is a worst case scenario so all Wisconsin counties have made it a priority. Douglas County Health Officer Deb Clausen says they're still holding pandemic training and planning meetings.
"We have many irons in the fire now for addressing such an event should it ever enter the United States. Wisconsin has a plan in place that addresses all local county and tribe for vaccine distribution and also anti-viral medication distribution."
That includes not just hospitals and medical clinics, but churches, civic groups, even animal shelters for pets. Wisconsin Health Services Spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis says the waning interest in the bird flu pandemic hasn't slowed their work to get ready for it.
"It's certainly not a backburner issue for us. We have continual preparedness, it happens all the time. And it's really a continuum. We've created some plans in 2001. We continue to test those plans both at the state level and local health departments and other partners. We take the lessons learned, we re-work the plans and we test them again and try for different scenarios."
Marquis says the pandemic plan has evolved into an all-hazards plan and was used in part to respond to this year's massive flooding in Wisconsin.
For information about your community's plan go to www.pandemic.wis.gov