Posts Tagged ‘pandemic influenza’

Michael
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Thinking Beyond Your Household

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

keep-calmWhile no time is a good time for a pandemic, the current influenza outbreak could not have happened at a worse time for many Americans. Unemployment is at record levels. The recession is affecting the world’s economies and households across the country are fighting to make ends meet. So what do people who are struggling to find ways to feed their families do to meet the challenges of preparing for influenza?

The fact is, they may have to rely on the rest of us. And that requires us to think not as individuals, but as members of a community who care about those around us who may need our help in the coming weeks and months. It requires faith leaders, employers, civic and community leaders, and others with a “constituency” to think beyond their individual challenges and come up with ways to ensure that people who rely on them can get through what could be a difficult time. (more…)

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Michael
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In a Pandemic, Early Intervention Can Save Lives

Thursday, September 3rd, 2009

As we learn more about the evolving situation with regard the H1N1 strain of influenza circulating around the world, it is useful to look to our past experiences with pandemic influenza to learn and apply any lessons that can help mitigate sickness and death.

Let’s call this a tale of two cities…in the 1918 Spanish Influenza epidemic, a minimum of 50 million people around the world died from the flu or from secondary infection. But not all localities experienced the same death rate, largely due to the public health guidance that was followed in that specific area. In the US, St. Louis and Philadelphia had vastly different outcomes, despite the fact that the same strain of influenza infected their communities.

In 1918, there were no influenza vaccines or antivirals and limited international travel. The public health responses were limited to isolating the ill, quarantining houses, closing schools, canceling worship services, restricting the size of funerals and weddings, closing saloons and theaters, restricting door-to-door sales, discouraging the use of public transportation, staggering the hours of business and factory operations, imposing curfews and, in some places, recommending the use of face masks in public.

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