Snowy Owl
Retired in 2010, In Memoriam
Preparing for flu, county looks to 1918
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B2B97314CC6CAD8A862571F7007F988E?OpenDocument
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/B2B97314CC6CAD8A862571F7007F988E?OpenDocument
HILLSBORO
Jefferson County Health Department officials plan to be as vigilant in dealing with an outbreak of avian flu as St. Louis was with the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. To do that, they have prepared a countywide plan that would enforce mandatory quarantines, if necessary.
Health officials have been meeting with representatives of schools, ambulance and fire districts, law enforcement agencies and funeral directors in regard to the possibility of mass contamination from a communicable disease.
"We're trying to get the general message out to everybody that a pandemic is certainly a possibility and what the effects could be, how it could affect businesses, families and schools," said Dennis Diehl, director of the health department.
He estimates there could be an absenteeism rate of 30 percent to 40 percent at places of employment if there were no plans for handling the disease. The onslaught usually comes in waves and could last up to 18 months once it starts, he said.
The health department is teaming with the Red Cross to target speaking engagements. Next month there will be a focus-group session with a random group of residents to try to determine perceptions of a pandemic.
"We still see a lot of folks with the attitude that this will never happen, so it's not worth worrying about," Diehl said. "It's one of the things we need to deal with."
The county would establish quarantine sites, though some people voluntarily would confine themselves to their homes. In addition to isolating individuals, health officials expect to cancel large public gatherings.
In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish flu killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people. In St. Louis, the death toll was about 3,000. The city's low death rate compared with other big cities was attributed to the city's health commissioner at the time, Dr. Max C. Starkloff.
"In the past, St. Louis has been very successful with closing schools and containing public gatherings," Diehl said. "Isolating people exposed is the only way we have to deal with this until we have a vaccine. Even if a vaccine is available, it would be limited in supply and could take up to six months to get."
There currently is no commercially available vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus associated with the avian influenza. Symptoms of avian flu range from fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia and severe respiratory diseases.
Jefferson County Health Department officials plan to be as vigilant in dealing with an outbreak of avian flu as St. Louis was with the Spanish flu pandemic in 1918. To do that, they have prepared a countywide plan that would enforce mandatory quarantines, if necessary.
Health officials have been meeting with representatives of schools, ambulance and fire districts, law enforcement agencies and funeral directors in regard to the possibility of mass contamination from a communicable disease.
"We're trying to get the general message out to everybody that a pandemic is certainly a possibility and what the effects could be, how it could affect businesses, families and schools," said Dennis Diehl, director of the health department.
He estimates there could be an absenteeism rate of 30 percent to 40 percent at places of employment if there were no plans for handling the disease. The onslaught usually comes in waves and could last up to 18 months once it starts, he said.
The health department is teaming with the Red Cross to target speaking engagements. Next month there will be a focus-group session with a random group of residents to try to determine perceptions of a pandemic.
"We still see a lot of folks with the attitude that this will never happen, so it's not worth worrying about," Diehl said. "It's one of the things we need to deal with."
The county would establish quarantine sites, though some people voluntarily would confine themselves to their homes. In addition to isolating individuals, health officials expect to cancel large public gatherings.
In 1918 and 1919 the Spanish flu killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people. In St. Louis, the death toll was about 3,000. The city's low death rate compared with other big cities was attributed to the city's health commissioner at the time, Dr. Max C. Starkloff.
"In the past, St. Louis has been very successful with closing schools and containing public gatherings," Diehl said. "Isolating people exposed is the only way we have to deal with this until we have a vaccine. Even if a vaccine is available, it would be limited in supply and could take up to six months to get."
There currently is no commercially available vaccine to protect humans against the H5N1 virus associated with the avian influenza. Symptoms of avian flu range from fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches to eye infections, pneumonia and severe respiratory diseases.