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Manatee: Keep eye on bird flu
DONNA WRIGHT
Herald Staff Writer
<!-- begin body-content --> MANATEE - A nationally known infectious disease consultant urges Manatee residents to pay attention to what is happening in Indonesia, where an entire family infected with bird flu may have passed the virus among themselves.
Friday's report of two sibling deaths in another Indonesian community underscores her concerns.
"These deaths among family members who live in close quarters is a head's up," said Linda Spaulding, founder and CEO of InCo and Associates LLC, an international infection control consulting firm based in Lakewood Ranch.
"We don't have anything to worry about, but it would be very good for us to keep track of what is going on in Indonesia," said Spaulding. "It is possible this is the start of human-to-human transmission."
As of Saturday the World Health Organization has confirmed 36 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia, out of the 127 worldwide.
WHO officials, along with staff from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, are in Indonesia to investigate whether the recent deaths may have been triggered by a human-to-human transmission.
The Associated Press reported that WHO officials have approved without debate a resolution allowing countries to immediately introduce a fast reporting system as a safeguard against the start of a possible flu pandemic.
Health officials are probing a second family cluster of deaths in Indonesia's northern Sumatra, according to an AP report. At least six members of a family of seven have died from the avian virus.
What worries health officials is the fact that to date they have been unable to link those deaths to an infected bird.
Spaulding cautioned that the World Health Organization and CDC just began their investigation of the situation Monday.
So far, neither organization has found evidence that the virus has mutated, but seven confirmed cases in one family who had close and prolonged exposure to one another would suggest human-to-human transmission, Spaulding said.
The case for human-to-human exposure is even more likely, she said, because to date investigators have not found any link between any of the family members with infected poultry or animals.
If WHO discovers more cases in the next few days, Spaulding said the likelihood of human-to-human exposure will increase.
"Am I concerned?" asked Spaulding who tracks the progress of the avian flu virus daily. "I am much more concerned today than I was a week ago when I first heard about the family in Sumatra."
All it takes is for one person who has been exposed to board a plane for the virus to be spread outside of Sumatra, said Spaulding.
She advised Manatee residents to monitor the situation closely and if human-to-human transmission is confirmed in Indonesia, to start thinking about how they are going to prepare for a potential outbreak here.
She said she would start by making sure her family members had N95 masks, approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for TB patients.
The best defense should an outbreak occur locally is to stay home and avoid contact with the public, said Spaulding.
But until more information is known about the situation in Sumatra, Spaulding advises a cautious wait-and-see attitude.
Spaulding has more than 20 years of nursing experience and is certified in infection control through the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. She is a member of local health care team working with Manatee County Health Department, hospitals and care facilities to develop a local response plan.
"The health department has been having meetings with hospitals, schools and EMS to discuss preparedness," said Spaulding. "Now hospitals are working on how they are going to prepare and meet the needs of the community. But it's hard to prepare because you don't know what is going to happen."
Daniel J. Friedrich III, chief executive of Blake Medical Center, said his infectious disease team met Wednesday to discuss the situation in Indonesia.
"We are getting prepared," said Friedrich. "We are watching the situation."
John Burns, public health preparedness director for the Manatee County Health Department, is in the midst of a public awareness campaign to help local governmental officials, businesses and health care providers have response plans in place.
Those preparations, Burns said, have been ongoing since March.
"We have been very active in getting people to look into this," said Burns. "We are going to put the response plan in place and hopefully we are not going to have use it."
That plan, he said, will work for all public health emergencies and disasters, whether the cause is a hurricane or a flu pandemic.
Burns encouraged businesses to have a plan for how they would continue operations should a significant percentage of the workforce be disabled.
Moreover, a widespread flu outbreak could necessitate work plans allowing employees to do their jobs from home, especially if schools had to close and children had to stay home.
Similar preparations are going on at every level of the Florida's health care delivery system, according the Florida Department of Health Web site.
Most importantly, people should not ignore the danger posed by a possible avian flu outbreak, Spaulding said.
"We still have people out in the community who don't want to hear about it," said Spaulding. "They don't want to prepare because if they do, they have to admit it might happen here."
Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@HeraldToday.com.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/14689810.htm
DONNA WRIGHT
Herald Staff Writer
<!-- begin body-content --> MANATEE - A nationally known infectious disease consultant urges Manatee residents to pay attention to what is happening in Indonesia, where an entire family infected with bird flu may have passed the virus among themselves.
Friday's report of two sibling deaths in another Indonesian community underscores her concerns.
"These deaths among family members who live in close quarters is a head's up," said Linda Spaulding, founder and CEO of InCo and Associates LLC, an international infection control consulting firm based in Lakewood Ranch.
"We don't have anything to worry about, but it would be very good for us to keep track of what is going on in Indonesia," said Spaulding. "It is possible this is the start of human-to-human transmission."
As of Saturday the World Health Organization has confirmed 36 human deaths from bird flu in Indonesia, out of the 127 worldwide.
WHO officials, along with staff from the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, are in Indonesia to investigate whether the recent deaths may have been triggered by a human-to-human transmission.
The Associated Press reported that WHO officials have approved without debate a resolution allowing countries to immediately introduce a fast reporting system as a safeguard against the start of a possible flu pandemic.
Health officials are probing a second family cluster of deaths in Indonesia's northern Sumatra, according to an AP report. At least six members of a family of seven have died from the avian virus.
What worries health officials is the fact that to date they have been unable to link those deaths to an infected bird.
Spaulding cautioned that the World Health Organization and CDC just began their investigation of the situation Monday.
So far, neither organization has found evidence that the virus has mutated, but seven confirmed cases in one family who had close and prolonged exposure to one another would suggest human-to-human transmission, Spaulding said.
The case for human-to-human exposure is even more likely, she said, because to date investigators have not found any link between any of the family members with infected poultry or animals.
If WHO discovers more cases in the next few days, Spaulding said the likelihood of human-to-human exposure will increase.
"Am I concerned?" asked Spaulding who tracks the progress of the avian flu virus daily. "I am much more concerned today than I was a week ago when I first heard about the family in Sumatra."
All it takes is for one person who has been exposed to board a plane for the virus to be spread outside of Sumatra, said Spaulding.
She advised Manatee residents to monitor the situation closely and if human-to-human transmission is confirmed in Indonesia, to start thinking about how they are going to prepare for a potential outbreak here.
She said she would start by making sure her family members had N95 masks, approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health for TB patients.
The best defense should an outbreak occur locally is to stay home and avoid contact with the public, said Spaulding.
But until more information is known about the situation in Sumatra, Spaulding advises a cautious wait-and-see attitude.
Spaulding has more than 20 years of nursing experience and is certified in infection control through the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology. She is a member of local health care team working with Manatee County Health Department, hospitals and care facilities to develop a local response plan.
"The health department has been having meetings with hospitals, schools and EMS to discuss preparedness," said Spaulding. "Now hospitals are working on how they are going to prepare and meet the needs of the community. But it's hard to prepare because you don't know what is going to happen."
Daniel J. Friedrich III, chief executive of Blake Medical Center, said his infectious disease team met Wednesday to discuss the situation in Indonesia.
"We are getting prepared," said Friedrich. "We are watching the situation."
John Burns, public health preparedness director for the Manatee County Health Department, is in the midst of a public awareness campaign to help local governmental officials, businesses and health care providers have response plans in place.
Those preparations, Burns said, have been ongoing since March.
"We have been very active in getting people to look into this," said Burns. "We are going to put the response plan in place and hopefully we are not going to have use it."
That plan, he said, will work for all public health emergencies and disasters, whether the cause is a hurricane or a flu pandemic.
Burns encouraged businesses to have a plan for how they would continue operations should a significant percentage of the workforce be disabled.
Moreover, a widespread flu outbreak could necessitate work plans allowing employees to do their jobs from home, especially if schools had to close and children had to stay home.
Similar preparations are going on at every level of the Florida's health care delivery system, according the Florida Department of Health Web site.
Most importantly, people should not ignore the danger posed by a possible avian flu outbreak, Spaulding said.
"We still have people out in the community who don't want to hear about it," said Spaulding. "They don't want to prepare because if they do, they have to admit it might happen here."
Donna Wright, health and social services reporter, can be reached at 745-7049 or at dwright@HeraldToday.com.
http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradenton/news/local/14689810.htm