DOH responds to the airing of an ABC movie on bird flu
By Silvia Casabianca 05/17/2006
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In response to ABC Television's airing of the movie, Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America May 9, the Collier County Department of Health (DOH) Communications Office offered a call-in meeting for the media to explain that the film is not a documentary, and certainly is not based on facts regarding an expected bird flu pandemic.
"The movie portrays a pandemic similar to the one in 1918; it's the worst possible scenario", Collier County Public Information Officer Deb Millsap said after the press conference. "It doesn't recognize any medical advances, and depicts more chaos than is likely to occur." The movie portrays bureaucratic inefficiency as dead bodies pile up and panic spreads. DOH secretary M. Rony Francois, Dr. Richard Hopkins and Dr. David Johnson of the Bureau of Epidemiology, and Dr. Carina Blackmore, the State Public Health Veterinarian, attended the phone conference. Francois said they haven't watched the movie, but it was important to clarify that it was not a documentary. "We hope the movie will act as a catalyst for each of us to prepare our families, and become engaged locally in the planning and preparation process," he said. "This is the time to prepare, not only for a pandemic event but also for any natural disaster that might come our way. It is time to plan, not to panic. It's necessary to separate fact from fiction." Francois also stated that Florida has been preparing for the pandemic since 1998, and is currently working on a new version of its plan. Millsap said there are two main reasons for bigger concerns about this flu epidemic. First of all, pandemics occur every 30 to 40 years, and the last one was in 1968. Secondly, this virus strain has been more virulent than others, killing millions of birds in Asia, Europe and Australia. "During the pandemic flu of 1918, as many as 30 million people perished due to the flu," Francois said. In 1968, 30,000 Americans perished from the Hong Kong flu, our last pandemic. Each year, some 30 to 40 thousand Americans die from seasonal flu." The DOH has said that they expect to see infected birds in Alaska before the year is over. "The birds coming from Asia fly over Alaska and on to the United States," Millsap explained. "That's why there is heightened surveillance in Alaska right now. They migrate and nest in Alaska and commingle with other birds." Among the surveillance actions taken by the DOH are the following: 1. Over 100 sentinel physicians report on a weekly basis any influenza-like illness to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and DOH. 2. Five DOH laboratories have biosafety facilities to identify samples of bird flu (H5N1) safely and quickly. 3. DOH has a test for the H5N1 virus that takes hours, rather than days, for a preliminary result. 4. DOH has devised exercises and drills to test and evaluate their plans on both the state and local level across Florida. 5. Each County Health Department has a pandemic flu plan based on its specific needs and resources. The Department of Health warned that, in a pandemic, all resources may be limited, and has recently completed a Strategic National Stockpile exercise to ensure they can effectively receive and distribute the supplies quickly and effectively. The main recommendation to the public for the prevention of the infection is proper hygiene.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: The movie paints a picture of barbed wire quarantine areas; can we expect this in Florida? A: The purpose of quarantine is to separate people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease or may be infected, but are not yet showing any symptoms. Quarantine usually refers to confining potentially infected persons to their homes or community-based facilities on a voluntary basis. Quarantine may be one of the public health tools employed in the early days of a pandemic, in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
Q: Should we buy masks? A: Only special masks designed to filter particles as small as viruses are effective, and those masks must be fitted and the users trained in proper use and disposal. Currently Health and Human Services/Center for Disease Control has not provided guidance on the use of masks by the public. If you are sick, you may be asked to wear a surgical mask if you visit a doctor or health care facility, to keep your cough or sneeze from spreading infectious droplets to others.
Q: How much food and water should we stock? A: Authorities will have limited resources, and the more each of us can store away now, the more supplies can be provided to those who truly cannot help themselves.By stockpiling food, water and prescription drugs, you not only help your family, but you also help your community.
Q: Are we prepared for a pandemic event? A: We will all be affected by a pandemic event, some to a lesser and some to a greater extent. If Floridians take the time now to get ready, and if they become engaged in the preparation process locally, we will be as prepared as possible.
Q: How will you decide who gets Tamiflu or vaccine, and in what order. A: Florida will follow federal guidelines for the distribution of anitvirals and vaccines. These guidelines can be found at www.pandemicflu.com. Because influenza viruses continually evolve and mutate, it is not possible to develop a vaccine until after the pandemic strain actually exists. With current technology, vaccine production could take as long as six months. HHS has been developing and stockpiling an experimental "pre-pandemic" H5N1 vaccine that may offer some level of immune protection, should the H5N1 virus mutate into a pandemic strain. Having a stockpile of this vaccine for up to 20 million people may help delay or lessen the initial impact of a pandemic, while a vaccine against the actual pandemic strain is developed and produced.
By Silvia Casabianca 05/17/2006
email this storyEmail to a friendpost a commentPost a Commentprinter friendlyPrinter-friendly
In response to ABC Television's airing of the movie, Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America May 9, the Collier County Department of Health (DOH) Communications Office offered a call-in meeting for the media to explain that the film is not a documentary, and certainly is not based on facts regarding an expected bird flu pandemic.
"The movie portrays a pandemic similar to the one in 1918; it's the worst possible scenario", Collier County Public Information Officer Deb Millsap said after the press conference. "It doesn't recognize any medical advances, and depicts more chaos than is likely to occur." The movie portrays bureaucratic inefficiency as dead bodies pile up and panic spreads. DOH secretary M. Rony Francois, Dr. Richard Hopkins and Dr. David Johnson of the Bureau of Epidemiology, and Dr. Carina Blackmore, the State Public Health Veterinarian, attended the phone conference. Francois said they haven't watched the movie, but it was important to clarify that it was not a documentary. "We hope the movie will act as a catalyst for each of us to prepare our families, and become engaged locally in the planning and preparation process," he said. "This is the time to prepare, not only for a pandemic event but also for any natural disaster that might come our way. It is time to plan, not to panic. It's necessary to separate fact from fiction." Francois also stated that Florida has been preparing for the pandemic since 1998, and is currently working on a new version of its plan. Millsap said there are two main reasons for bigger concerns about this flu epidemic. First of all, pandemics occur every 30 to 40 years, and the last one was in 1968. Secondly, this virus strain has been more virulent than others, killing millions of birds in Asia, Europe and Australia. "During the pandemic flu of 1918, as many as 30 million people perished due to the flu," Francois said. In 1968, 30,000 Americans perished from the Hong Kong flu, our last pandemic. Each year, some 30 to 40 thousand Americans die from seasonal flu." The DOH has said that they expect to see infected birds in Alaska before the year is over. "The birds coming from Asia fly over Alaska and on to the United States," Millsap explained. "That's why there is heightened surveillance in Alaska right now. They migrate and nest in Alaska and commingle with other birds." Among the surveillance actions taken by the DOH are the following: 1. Over 100 sentinel physicians report on a weekly basis any influenza-like illness to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and DOH. 2. Five DOH laboratories have biosafety facilities to identify samples of bird flu (H5N1) safely and quickly. 3. DOH has a test for the H5N1 virus that takes hours, rather than days, for a preliminary result. 4. DOH has devised exercises and drills to test and evaluate their plans on both the state and local level across Florida. 5. Each County Health Department has a pandemic flu plan based on its specific needs and resources. The Department of Health warned that, in a pandemic, all resources may be limited, and has recently completed a Strategic National Stockpile exercise to ensure they can effectively receive and distribute the supplies quickly and effectively. The main recommendation to the public for the prevention of the infection is proper hygiene.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: The movie paints a picture of barbed wire quarantine areas; can we expect this in Florida? A: The purpose of quarantine is to separate people who may have been exposed to a contagious disease or may be infected, but are not yet showing any symptoms. Quarantine usually refers to confining potentially infected persons to their homes or community-based facilities on a voluntary basis. Quarantine may be one of the public health tools employed in the early days of a pandemic, in an attempt to slow the spread of the disease.
Q: Should we buy masks? A: Only special masks designed to filter particles as small as viruses are effective, and those masks must be fitted and the users trained in proper use and disposal. Currently Health and Human Services/Center for Disease Control has not provided guidance on the use of masks by the public. If you are sick, you may be asked to wear a surgical mask if you visit a doctor or health care facility, to keep your cough or sneeze from spreading infectious droplets to others.
Q: How much food and water should we stock? A: Authorities will have limited resources, and the more each of us can store away now, the more supplies can be provided to those who truly cannot help themselves.By stockpiling food, water and prescription drugs, you not only help your family, but you also help your community.
Q: Are we prepared for a pandemic event? A: We will all be affected by a pandemic event, some to a lesser and some to a greater extent. If Floridians take the time now to get ready, and if they become engaged in the preparation process locally, we will be as prepared as possible.
Q: How will you decide who gets Tamiflu or vaccine, and in what order. A: Florida will follow federal guidelines for the distribution of anitvirals and vaccines. These guidelines can be found at www.pandemicflu.com. Because influenza viruses continually evolve and mutate, it is not possible to develop a vaccine until after the pandemic strain actually exists. With current technology, vaccine production could take as long as six months. HHS has been developing and stockpiling an experimental "pre-pandemic" H5N1 vaccine that may offer some level of immune protection, should the H5N1 virus mutate into a pandemic strain. Having a stockpile of this vaccine for up to 20 million people may help delay or lessen the initial impact of a pandemic, while a vaccine against the actual pandemic strain is developed and produced.