Massive publicity campaign.

Sally Furniss · Mar 14, 2006

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</td></tr> </tbody></table> Publicity campaign on birdflu about to start 15 March 2006 <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="5"><tbody><tr><td height="5">

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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]A massive publicity campaign encouraging New Zealanders to prepare for a flu pandemic gets under way today.[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The New Zealand Herald reported that a million-dollar publicity blitz would kick off with taxpayer-funded advertisements on television and radio. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The broadcast media campaign precedes a mail-drop to 1.4 million households around the country next week, advising people on hygiene and household planning. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The H5N1 strain of bird flu has spread rapidly since the beginning of February, killing birds in at least 15 new countries as it spreads deeper into Europe and Africa. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]It has killed or forced the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens and ducks across Asia and Europe since 2003, as health officials fear the virus could mutate into a strain that is easily transmitted between people. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]That has not happened yet, but at least 97 people have died from the disease worldwide, according to World Health Organisation figures. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Fifteen-second ads will screen on TV One, TV2 and TV3, advising people on hygiene, preparing emergency kits and general household planning. [/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Similarly themed advisories will run on the infomercial-style Family Health Diary television slots later this week. Radio ads will run in English, Maori and Pacific Island languages. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Households around the country will get a brochure, fridge magnet and covering letter from the Health Ministry in their letterboxes from next Wednesday. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The $1 million campaign is part of the intense planning which the Ministry of Health has been undertaking for the past year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The bulk of the work would be completed by the middle of the year, although some planning work would continue indefinitely, said Director of Public Health Mark Jacobs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"Everyone should be aware of the risk of a future flu pandemic and be aware that there are practical things that they can and should be doing to help their families get ready for that," he said.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3604593a7144,00.html
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Sally Furniss · Mar 15, 2006

Re: Massive publicity campaign.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]An advertising blitz begins this week urging New Zealanders to take precautions against bird flu. Are we taking a `She'll be right' attitude to a virus that could spell disaster?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The human death toll is rising, and each week more countries report outbreaks in wild and domestic birds as the virulent flu sweeps the world. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Despite growing international alarm, New Zealanders are relatively complacent when it comes to the threat of an influenza pandemic. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]We've heard the warnings, but most of us have done nothing to prepare for a disease that could cause tens of thousands of deaths here. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]A survey commissioned by the Health Ministry found only a third of 1000 people contacted had taken precautions, like preparing an emergency kit of food, water and medicine. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The rest ? 67 per cent ? had made no move to ready themselves or their families for a pandemic that could hit 40 per cent of the population and kill up to 33,000 New Zealanders. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The Health Ministry is trying to combat this apparent "she'll be right" attitude. From Monday, 1.4 million households will receive a brochure on how to prepare and a fridge magnet with an 0800 information line number. A $1 million advertising campaign on radio and television starts this week. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]These efforts are designed to convince the public to put together an emergency kit and make a plan. If the outbreak is as severe as feared, hospitals and the wider health system will not be able to cope with the number of patients and many will have to fend for themselves at home. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]For many, a brochure and a fridge magnet will not change their view that the flu threat is distant and overhyped like the Millennium bug and Sars. But Christchurch virologist Lance Jennings, who attended a meeting of the Asia Pacific Advisory Committee on Influenza this month, says this is ignoring clear warning signs. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"I think you've just got to look at history. Since the 16th century on average we've had three human influenza pandemics every 100 years. There were three last century and it's been 38 years since the last one."
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic that killed about 50 million people worldwide came from an avian virus that adapted to humans. Dr Jennings says this pattern could repeat and the H5N1 avian strain is a growing threat as it builds around the world. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]It is moving from Asia into Africa and European countries which have good biosecurity for their domestic poultry flocks, and affecting animals and birds. There are fears in Germany about the death of a cat. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He describes H5N1 as "volatile" and "promiscuous", exactly the sort of temperament that could mutate to let it spread from person to person ? the trigger point for a pandemic. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]So far 97 people have died from bird flu since 2003 ? mostly people in close contact with infected birds. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The fear is that as human exposure to H5N1 increases, so does the chance of someone with normal flu being infected by it, and a new human-to-human virus emerging. Air travel means it could arrive in New Zealand within days. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]If the worst does happen, can we be sure that the Government has done enough? [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The Health Ministry has been co ordinating planning across a range of departments. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]It has spent $26 million stockpiling 855,000 courses of the anti-viral drug Tamiflu ? enough for 21 per cent of the population ? and this is stored at several secret and secure locations. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Drug funder Pharmac is securing extra supplies of antibiotics to cope with secondary infections associated with flu and it is considering arranging for additional stocks of essential personal medicines such as warfarin and insulin in case deliveries are disrupted during a pandemic. New Zealand has an agreement with Australian company CSL for a guaranteed supply of vaccine, but it will not be available for several months after a new flu strain appears. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]There is no doubt that if a pandemic does hit it will be devastating. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]The Health Ministry says the peak death toll could be 10,000 a week. Funeral directors are already making special arrangements. Funerals are likely to be postponed, borders closed and public gatherings banned.
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]New laws allowing for quarantining of suspected flu cases and giving emergency powers to key decision-makers during a pandemic are expected to be presented to Parliament within weeks. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]But despite these measures a report by Parliament's health select committee raised serious concerns about the Government's preparedness. Our national disease surveillance system was "obviously insufficient" and district health boards lacked direction. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Health Minister Pete Hodgson has rejected some of these claims, saying the committee's concerns were based on out-of-date information. But he acknowledges that there are gaps in New Zealand's planning that will take some time to address. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]"We're among the best planned countries in the world. But our plan is not yet up to scratch. We are going to need another few months." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]Increasing public awareness, making sure DHBs carry out exercises to test their plans, and boosting supplies of equipment such as masks on sale to the public, were some areas he wanted to see targeted early before the middle of this year. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]He also wants the level of public preparation to increase. "If more people have laid in rice and water and panadol and whatever else it is they might need, then the chances of there being a rush on supplies at the time (of a pandemic) is reduced." [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]But, he admits, even his household organised an emergency kit only recently.
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[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, MS Sans Serif]http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/dominionpost/0,2106,3604952a6482,00.html
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Massive publicity campaign.

Sally Furniss

Well-known member

Sally Furniss

Well-known member