MMA Spotlight
Maine CDC News
Avian & Pandemic Flu Newswire
MAINE: Check out the Influenza Planning Checklists for your place of business, school, or home: Click on the appropriate link on the right under Influenza Planning Checklists.
Piscataquis County to begin work on flu plan April 28, 2006 - DOVER-FOXCROFT - A sobering mental picture was painted on Thursday for a group of Piscataquis County residents who likely will help develop a county preparedness and response plan for pandemic influenza.Tom IversonJr., county emergency management agency director, is heading up the task with help from retired Dr. Ben Kittredge of Milo who will serve as county coordinator. Click here to read entire story.
Skowhegan avian flu summit draws 2 dozen April 26, 2006 -
SKOWHEGAN - Matthew Chandler, the pandemic flu coordinator for the Maine Center for Disease Control, rocked those gathered Tuesday at an avian flu planning summit by presenting statistics to which they could relate...Only about two dozen people attended the summit, despite an invitation from Bob Higgins, Somerset County Emergency Management Agency director, to hundreds of county leaders. Click here to read the entire story.
With input from various agencies and guidance from the Federal Government, Maine CDC staff, including Don Ward, Kris Perkins, and Matt Chandler developed a Maine-specific pandemic influenza county planning document that is forming the template for current county planning efforts. Click here to view Guidelines for the Development of Maine County Plans for Preparedness and Response to Pandemic Influenza.
NATIONAL:
Bush Pandemic Plan Puts State, Local Health Officials in Charge May 3, 2006 - State and local health officials will be responsible for coordinating the fight against a global outbreak of lethal influenza, according to President George W. Bush's latest blueprint for handling a pandemic.
State governments can't expect much federal aid if a lethal bird flu such as the H5N1 virus mutates into a form that begins spreading quickly among people, according to the plan (National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Implementation Plan) released by the White House today. Click here to read entire story.
New Jersey Secretary of Agriculture Charles M. Kuperus today issued the following statement regarding detection of a form of Avian Influenza in a New Jersey live bird market: April 28, 2006 - Routine testing in New Jersey's live bird market system turned up a strain of Avian Influenza (AI) that appears to be low pathogenic and cannot harm humans. This is not an uncommon occurrence, as various strains of AI harmful only to birds are sometimes detected during these tests. Click here to read the entire story.
Don't Count on Masks if Bird Flu Strikes April 27, 2006 Washington, DC - If a worldwide flu epidemic strikes, don't reuse a face mask - and don't assume, either, that it will offer a lot of protection, the Institute of Medicine said Thursday. That's the bottom line from an anxiously awaited probe requested by the government as it stockpiles supplies in case a flu pandemic begins. Click here to read the entire story.
U.S. Efforts won't slow pandemic flu if it hits. However, closing schools, using antivirals could help, scientists say April 26, 2006
WASHINGTON - If pandemic influenza hits in the next year or so, the few weapons the United States has to keep it from spreading will do little, a new computer model shows.
A pandemic flu is likely to strike one in three people if nothing is done, according to the results of computer simulation published in Thursday's journal Nature. Click here to read entire story.
Vical bird flu vaccine stops H5N1, maybe others May 2, 2006 WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bird flu vaccine being developed by San Diego-based Vical Incorporated <VICL.O> protects mice and ferrets against the feared H5N1 avian influenza virus, the company said on Tuesday. It may also offer potential as a "universal" flu vaccine because it targets parts of the virus that all flu strains have, Vical and researchers testing the shot said. Click here to read entire story.
REPORT: U.S. bracing for massive flu disruptions May 2, 2006 WASHINGTON (AP) - Employers should have plans to keep workers at least 3 feet (1 meter) apart, colleges should consider which dormitories could be used to quarantine the sick, and flight crews should have surgical masks to put on coughing travelers under a draft of the government's pandemic flu plan obtained by The Associated Press. Click here to read entire story.
Bird-flu movie blurs fact, fiction -
ABC's horror show features Richmond man as 'patient zero', May 3, 2006 - WASHINGTON - Bodies piling up so quickly it takes dump trucks to haul them away. Barbed wire to keep whole neighborhoods quarantined. It's Hollywood's version of bird flu, a blur of fact and fiction that some scientists say could confuse the public. "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America," an ABC made-for-television movie, airs Tuesday. Click here to read entire story.
INTERNATIONAL:
Viral progression since 2003:
- Humans infected - 206 thru 5/5/06 * Human deaths - 114 thru 5/5/06 (55% death rate) * 56 countries affected in Europe, Asia and Africa * No new countries affected with bird flu in May 2006 thru 5/5/2006
- total in April 2006 * 13 total in March 2006 * 21 total in February 2006
New This week:
- Humans: New cases since April 28th:
- Egypt-27 year-old woman in died - 13th case-5 have died (31% death rate)
New countries with Birds infected since April 28th:
- None this week
Other animals with H5N1 since April 28th:
- * None this week
Source: World Health Organization (WHO)
In International News:
Smuggled Pets Worry Bird Flu Watchdogs April 30, 2006 - Bird flu entering the U.S. through smuggled wildlife is a growing worry for government officials already on the lookout for migrating wild birds.
The concern over the trade in wild animals, pets and animal parts has some precedent, here and abroad. Click here to read entire story.
May 5 , 2006 Vol 1 Issue 2
Current Tracking Charts and Maps:
- Number of New Countries with Bird Flu by Month
- Map of Asia, Europe and Africa showing spread of bird flu
- Map of the World showing countries infected by bird flu by year country first infected
Preparedness Resources and Checklists:
Franklin Memorial Hospital Pandemic Influenza Plan
What Maine People Need to Know About Avian Influenza ("Bird Flu") prepared by the University of Maine Cooperative Extension
Influenza Planning Checklists:
School District (K-12)
Emergency Medical Service and Non-Emergent (Medical) Transport Organizations
Websites for more information:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/index.htm
WHO | Avian influenza <>
The Wall Street Journal Avian Flu Tracker
As you read articles on avian influenza (AKA bird flu) and pandemic influenza, here are a few things to keep in mind:
Avian influenza is the scientific name for Bird Flu.
H5N1 is the designation of the version of avian influenza that is currently transmittable from birds to humans. The H5N1 strain may be transmitted to humans by infected wild and domestic birds and the meat from these birds. It is almost always transmitted to humans by close contact with an infected bird, such as the infected bird sneezing on a human or the human coming in close contact with feces or feather dust from an infected bird.
Properly cooking poultry will kill any avian influenza virus present in the meat. FMI: http://www.avianinfluenza.org/can-you-catch-avian-influenza-from-eating- poultry.php
Pandemic influenza occurs when the avian influenza mutates from a bird-to-human virus to a human-to-human virus and the outbreak is worldwide.
Right now there are no known strains of avian influenza that can be transmitted human-to-human.