University preparing for possible pandemic flu outbreak

BY BRIAN ECKERT
Director of Media & Public Relations

The good news about avian flu is that there are no cases in North America. The new strain of influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has occurred only in Asia and Europe. At present, only people who work closely with poultry have caught it, directly from infected birds.

The not-so-good news is that federal and state health officials think it is possible that the avian flu virus might mutate into a form that can easily be passed from human-to-human. If that happens, then they expect a pandemic—a global epidemic—similar to the Spanish flu that swept the United States in the early 20th century. Humans have no natural immunity to, or vaccine against, avian flu, so large numbers of people would become sick, and some die, from the disease.

No one knows whether an avian flu pandemic will occur this fall and winter, but the chances are good enough and the potential problems large enough that the University has appointed a committee to plan how the campus community will respond if the possibility becomes reality. John Sheffield, director of safety and risk management, first convened the group of administrators representing all areas of campus life last spring. Their work has progressed through the summer and continues.

Sheffield and Dr. Lynne Deane, director of the Student Health Center, both serve on  the Department of Health’s pandemic influenza advisory committee, so the campus committee has benefited greatly from their access to the most current information and government preparation.

Anyone who saw ABC-TV’s June movie, Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America, knows how a pandemic could begin and quickly spread around the world. While state health officials stress that the movie greatly exaggerated the effects on society—quarantines, food shortages and rioting, for example—the potential for significant disruptions to daily life exist. Some government estimates project that absenteeism from work could reach 40 percent, enough to interfere with deliveries of goods and food to stores, disrupt transportation networks and cause other cascading business-related problems. As a small community depending on outside suppliers, the University could face significant operational problems—beginning with feeding residents.

Further, as a campus where people live in close quarters and travel widely, and where students commonly allow themselves to become run down from overwork, stress and the occasional late night party, the University annually is a place where regular influenza spreads quickly. Avian flu would spread the same way.

At the pandemic flu planning committee’s request, several steps have or will be taken to inform and protect the campus community.

A detailed plan of action has been created and will be continuously improved as circumstances change. Sheffield and Deane already are monitoring authoritative reports about the illness daily. Campus response will be implemented in stages parallel to any progression of the disease in the world, ranging from simply providing authoritative news and information to the potential closing of campus, sending students home and providing care for an estimated 400 students who would not be able to return home.

All parents and students received a late-summer letter from Dr. Steve Bisese, vice president for student development, reminding them that all kinds of significant emergencies can occur—such as hurricanes and power failures—and that families should be prepared for the possibility that students might need to return home. He recommended that students develop a buddy system, so that if a disaster closes campus and makes travel to one region of the country impossible, an affected student could travel to the home of a buddy.

Faculty and staff will receive a similar letter soon, recommending that they develop personal, family disaster plans enabling them to weather a crisis caused by a pandemic, hurricane or other crisis.

A campus pandemic flu Web site is under construction, which will serve as the central source of information on campus about the illness. It is expected to be available within a few weeks—well before the potential window of any avian flu outbreak.

In the meantime, the committee strongly recommends that all students, faculty and staff view a 12-minute informational video prepared by the Virginia Department of Health. There is also comprehensive information about avian flu at a special VDH Web site. The site offers especially useful, simple tips about how to avoid catching any type of influenza.

Brian Eckert is a member of the University’s avian flu pandemic planning committee.