TheFluMaster
Resident
Mohave preps for bird flu
By JIM SECKLER
KINGMAN - It could kill 5,000 people and hospitalize 30,000 in Mohave County alone.
No one is safe, no one is immune from it.
It, in this case, could be a mutated version of the Avian or bird flu that already struck Asia and parts of Europe. The death rate among humans in Asia from the H5N1 bird flu is 50 percent.
Currently, human deaths from H5N1 bird flu have occurred only from contact with poultry or domesticated birds such as ducks, chickens or turkeys.
It is not a matter of if - but when - a mutated flu that spreads from human to human becomes pandemic.
If the bird flu mutates into a global influenza and hits Mohave County, 70,000 of the county's nearly 200,000 people will get the flu.
The county's four hospitals have fewer than 600 beds.
Normal flu vaccines would not protect people against the disease.
It would take up to six months for health officials to identify and create a vaccine to combat the bird flu once it mutates.
The Mohave County Public Health Department will provide The Mohave Valley Daily News and newspapers in Kingman and Lake Havasu City a pamphlet on influenza, county Public Health Department spokeswoman Jennifer McNally said.
The six-page color pamphlet is expected to be included in local newspapers by the first part of June.
The pamphlet would also be included in the ?Clippin' the River? and other newspaper advertisements as well as linked on the county's Web site.
The pamphlet also would be distributed to senior centers and through the county's Meals on Wheels program.
A smaller pamphlet with facts about the flu will also be available for local businesses. The business pamphlet will be sent to Chambers of Commerce also by June, McNally said.
The sheriff's office Sheriff's Citizen Action Team members will also distribute copies of the pamphlet to businesses.
The impact of a flu that has gone pandemic could mean a shut down of businesses and schools. Between 30 to 40 percent of workers could be out sick, McNally said.
Businesses should plan for a disruption on product services and develop a plan for employee illnesses, the pamphlet states.
Daily deliveries to restaurants or stores could be a week or longer with a flu outbreak.
Transportation services as well as services from banks, stores, hospital, restaurants, government offices and post offices could also be disrupted.
People should store a supply of non-perishable food, water and emergency items such as flashlights, soaps, prescribed medicines.
Pets - cats and birds - can be infected by the H5N1 bird flu. It is unknown if dogs can be infected.
The pamphlet describes the seasonal flu as being transmitted from human to human usually during the winter months. Most people have immunity and vaccines are available.
Avian flu is deadly to domestic poultry and transmission between birds and humans is limited. There is no vaccine.
?Pandemic flu is a flu that causes a global outbreak and would cause serious illness. People do not have natural immunity to the virus, which would spread easily between humans,? the pamphlet states.
The best solution for prevention may be as simple as washing ones hands and covering ones mouth when sneezing or coughing, McNally said.
The flu is not only airborne but can be spread from hand to object to someone else?s hand. Carrying a bottle of germicide is encouraged.
The last major flu outbreak worldwide occurred in 1918-1919, which killed a half million people in the United States and up to 50 million worldwide.
Less serious versions of the pandemic influenza broke out in 1957-1958 when the Asian flu killed 70,000 Americans. The Hong Kong flu in 1968-1969 killed 34,000 Americans.
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2006/05/11/news/top_story/top1.txt
By JIM SECKLER
KINGMAN - It could kill 5,000 people and hospitalize 30,000 in Mohave County alone.
No one is safe, no one is immune from it.
It, in this case, could be a mutated version of the Avian or bird flu that already struck Asia and parts of Europe. The death rate among humans in Asia from the H5N1 bird flu is 50 percent.
Currently, human deaths from H5N1 bird flu have occurred only from contact with poultry or domesticated birds such as ducks, chickens or turkeys.
It is not a matter of if - but when - a mutated flu that spreads from human to human becomes pandemic.
If the bird flu mutates into a global influenza and hits Mohave County, 70,000 of the county's nearly 200,000 people will get the flu.
The county's four hospitals have fewer than 600 beds.
Normal flu vaccines would not protect people against the disease.
It would take up to six months for health officials to identify and create a vaccine to combat the bird flu once it mutates.
The Mohave County Public Health Department will provide The Mohave Valley Daily News and newspapers in Kingman and Lake Havasu City a pamphlet on influenza, county Public Health Department spokeswoman Jennifer McNally said.
The six-page color pamphlet is expected to be included in local newspapers by the first part of June.
The pamphlet would also be included in the ?Clippin' the River? and other newspaper advertisements as well as linked on the county's Web site.
The pamphlet also would be distributed to senior centers and through the county's Meals on Wheels program.
A smaller pamphlet with facts about the flu will also be available for local businesses. The business pamphlet will be sent to Chambers of Commerce also by June, McNally said.
The sheriff's office Sheriff's Citizen Action Team members will also distribute copies of the pamphlet to businesses.
The impact of a flu that has gone pandemic could mean a shut down of businesses and schools. Between 30 to 40 percent of workers could be out sick, McNally said.
Businesses should plan for a disruption on product services and develop a plan for employee illnesses, the pamphlet states.
Daily deliveries to restaurants or stores could be a week or longer with a flu outbreak.
Transportation services as well as services from banks, stores, hospital, restaurants, government offices and post offices could also be disrupted.
People should store a supply of non-perishable food, water and emergency items such as flashlights, soaps, prescribed medicines.
Pets - cats and birds - can be infected by the H5N1 bird flu. It is unknown if dogs can be infected.
The pamphlet describes the seasonal flu as being transmitted from human to human usually during the winter months. Most people have immunity and vaccines are available.
Avian flu is deadly to domestic poultry and transmission between birds and humans is limited. There is no vaccine.
?Pandemic flu is a flu that causes a global outbreak and would cause serious illness. People do not have natural immunity to the virus, which would spread easily between humans,? the pamphlet states.
The best solution for prevention may be as simple as washing ones hands and covering ones mouth when sneezing or coughing, McNally said.
The flu is not only airborne but can be spread from hand to object to someone else?s hand. Carrying a bottle of germicide is encouraged.
The last major flu outbreak worldwide occurred in 1918-1919, which killed a half million people in the United States and up to 50 million worldwide.
Less serious versions of the pandemic influenza broke out in 1957-1958 when the Asian flu killed 70,000 Americans. The Hong Kong flu in 1968-1969 killed 34,000 Americans.
http://www.mohavedailynews.com/articles/2006/05/11/news/top_story/top1.txt