The timing of the Pandemic Influenza Tabletop Exercise, by coincidence, comes on the heels of the forthcoming ABC television broadcast of ‘Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America’. “The airing of ‘Bird Flu in America’ could not have come at a more appropriate time,” remarked Dr. John Walker, Stanislaus County Public Health Officer. “Though sensational for commercial purposes, a television drama can help raise public awareness about the complex issues surrounding a pandemic. It is important for the community to understand that local officials are taking measures to deal with the intricacies that this broadcast will raise.”

The exercise tackles issues related to an influenza pandemic during a six-month period of time, beginning with the initial detection of a lethal virus, to its spread across the globe, and, finally, the local consequences for the citizens of Stanislaus County. Areas addressed at the local level include disease surveillance, emergency management and response, hospital surge capacity, mass vaccination, and public communication/education. The exercise gives participants an opportunity to evaluate current countywide infrastructure and to consider the relationships and responsibilities of all agencies involved.

Here are some important facts to remember:

• Currently there are less than 200 human cases among the billions of humans on the planet. Most cases are related to DIRECT exposure to live poultry. There is minimal risk associated with consumption of properly cooked poultry and eggs.
  
• Avian influenza is NOT a new disease. Outbreaks within poultry populations have occurred before in California and have been successfully contained. The current H5N1 strain existed in Asia since 1997.
  
• Avian influenza is spread primarily by the oral ingestion of infected material, so good hand hygiene is imperative.
  
• Avian influenza refers to infection of birds, and spread to humans is extremely rare. Currently, there is no pattern of human-to-human transmission. The potential for a human pandemic would require mutation of the virus such that there is person-to-person transmission. This has NOT occurred.

There is recorded information about avian influenza in English and Spanish on the Health Services Agency’s Flu Hotline at 558-8872.

Additional local information is available on the Agency website at www.hsahealth.org as well as the new Stanislaus County website at www.stanemergency.com and the Federal website at www.pandemicflu.gov