Agency Gears Up for Unpredictable Flu Season
FrontLines - October 2009
Agency officials are gearing up for what may be a harsh flu season this year because of the H1N1 virus.
The virus appeared in March and April in Mexico and the United States, then spread around the globe, causing mild flu for more than a quarter million people
and killing nearly 3,000.
Health and safety officials say to get ready for another round of H1N1 during the traditional flu season this fall and winter, but can’t yet predict just how much of an impact the highly mutable virus will have on workers here in Washington and in offices worldwide.
"We don’t know," said Dennis Carroll, who is USAID’s special advisor on pandemic influenza. "The current virus as we’re seeing
it is a relatively mild virus."
However, he added: "It has a body of features both genetic and epidemiological that indicate it is extremely unusual. It is from a class of viruses that is completely unpredictable."
Health officials fear the virus will follow the path of the infamous
1918 flu, which was mild its first year and went on to kill 50 million worldwide during a second pass the next year.
The words to live by for the fall flu season, which traditionally
begins around October and November, are "be prepared."
"The best thing to do is to prepare
for the worst case scenario," said Peter Garcia, who is the Agency’s emergency manager.
USAID has been planning for a pandemic since 2006 when the threat was avian flu. More recently, it has mobilized the Pandemic Influenza Task Force, which includes about 10 representatives
from various bureaus and offices at the Agency.
In the event of an emergency, task force members will be alerted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and then take appropriate
measures, depending on the severity of the outbreak. Staff in overseas offices will follow the lead of the chief of mission at the State Department. "The most important thing we can do is provide
information," said Garcia.
In the meantime, Agency officials
are encouraging prevention. Wash hands frequently and make use of the hand sanitizer stations that have been installed throughout
the Agency’s offices and elevator lobbies. Cough or sneeze into your elbow to keep germs from spreading. Avoid close contact with people who appear to have the flu. And, stay home if you come down with the flu until you are no longer contagious.
USAID is providing individual hand sanitizer and boxes of tissue for Washington-based workers, said Peter Bedard, USAID’s manager
for safety and occupational health. And safety officials have also encouraged Agency leadership
to draw up contingency plans, such as teleworking, in case large numbers of workers become sick.
"We’re not just focusing on the workplace," said Bedard, who added that parents with school-age children should also prepare for school closings and alternate childcare plans. He also suggested logging on to neighborhood Web sites to keep abreast of the community
buzz on H1N1 outbreaks.
H1N1, which also is referred to as swine flu, causes typical flu symptoms like fever, cough, sore throat, runny nose, aches, chills, and fatigue. The CDC says a significant number of people said they also suffered through diarrhea
and vomiting.
Unlike the typical flu, however,
most of H1N1’s victims have been older children and young adults—nearly all in good health. Pregnancy also appears to put women at increased risk to become seriously ill with the virus. Typically, influenza is most dangerous to the very old and the very young.
Also atypical is that this virus makes its home deep in the lungs, said Carroll, which can mean severe bronchial infection. "It has the potential to nest and replicate,"
he said.
H1N1 also mutates rapidly, Carroll added, making it difficult for scientists to stay a step ahead of creating a vaccine to treat flu sufferers.
Some predictions suggest half the U.S. population will get H1N1 this flu season. A vaccine
is expected to be ready by October, health officials say, and will be distributed to pregnant
women, emergency medical
workers, and other priority groups first.
★
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