The Impact Of Flues On The Countries - Essay Example

Executive Summary The outbreak of three dangerous viruses all together can be devastating. H1N1 was just news when it first arrived and it was dealt with quickly but the virus has mutated and is back to claim more lives in a much quicker fashion. At the same time is the SARS virus and H5N1 which is the Avian flu virus. All of these viruses are expected to be very active this year and we do not want them joining together to mutate a whole new virus. There has been policy related to these viruses before but the needs have not been as drastic as now. We much develop and approve a policy that allows the Public Health Officers to have the power to force people into treatment and quarantine them when necessary. People are presently refusing the vaccine which is necessary in preventing a large outbreak and it will need to be made mandatory. There are also specific things such as wearing a mask in caring for all patients that will need to be done to protect our healthcare workers. This new policy will need to occur immediately in order to protect the greatest number of people. Introduction The World Health Organization reports that 414 countries and overseas territories or communities have reported laboratory confirmed cases of pandemic influenza H1N1 2012, (fluthreat) including over 177,798 deaths. The global total number of fatalities has increased by 2047 since the previous update just one month ago. This is a increasingly virulent outbreak of a mutated virus. There are also more outbreaks of SARS and Avian influenza (health.gov) Together there have been over one million deaths. Many experts are tying the increasing numbers of outbreaks to the increasing amount of heat in the summer with the last four years being the hottest summers on record and the expectation that with global warming there will continue to be an increase. H1N1 is pandemic in Asia, Europe, The Americas, Africa, and the South Pacific and there have been reports of small outbreaks in all other countries (WHO). H5N1 or Bird Flu started by affecting birds and being transmitted between birds. In the past it affected mostly water birds and domestic birds such as chickens. In the beginning, almost all human cases were from exposure to domestic birds being raised by those people but there are now reports of this virus being transmitted between humans (Poutanen, Low, & Henry, 2003). It is expected that this will be a new human influenza pandemic this fall. SEVERE ACUTE RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS) is a global (Cameron, Rainer, & Smit, 2003).phenomenon that is getting worse fast. It is heavily clustered in China, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, and Hanoi but there are recent reports in the United States, England, and here in Australia. T There is concern that these are substantially underestimated and that there are more cases of all three types of flu in the rural areas where healthcare and diagnosis are not so readily available. It is important to vaccinate in prevention where possible as soon as possible. Current Policy Currently any outbreak of these three flu is reportable. There is a preventative vaccine available for H1N1 and the World Health Organization recommends self isolation if H1N1 is detected. I is also expected that family in contact with the person who has H1N1 will also isolate from work in an effort to prevent spread. Vaccine is not mandated at this time though (freepublic.com) epidemiologists predict a severe epidemic from H1N1 this year. In the case of SARS and H1N5, there are still no vaccines (betterhealth.vic.gov) The WHO prefer full involuntary quarantine and compulsory segregation from work and family of potential carriers. Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry monitor avian influenza outbreaks in birds and continue to report this. There is an Avian flu website that is available at all time. Australia is also monitoring SARS. Federal and State governments in Australia have been working together to plan their response to an outbreak of bird flu. An episode of bird flu will trigger the Australian Action Plan for Pandemic Influenza, a federal government plan for Pandemic influenza, There is also a detailed plan available in Victoria. The key measures presently in use are to prevent outbreak include keeping wild birds and domesticated birds apart, and making sure that domesticated birds have a safe supply of drinking water. The Australian Government has been stockpiling Relenza and Tamiflu (mydr.com.au) for some time. A vaccine against bird flu will be ready from this federal group soon. Whats Wrong With Todays Policy? The virus is mutating. Vaccines are not being used. Epidemiologists expect all three flu to be much worse this year. Global warming continues to set up a pattern of weather that is helpful to the virus. The public does not see the policy as important and flu vaccine is not being used as well as involuntary isolation. The policy does not mandate any kind of care and does not give expectations. The media has criticized the present policy and because the 2009 outbreak was not as great as the government expected, the public feels that the government over-reacted and is less likely to respond appropriately. The policy does not coordinate the process well and with poor coordination comes poor communication, allowing that some of the public will not understand the importance of protecting themselves and their families. The biggest issue is that vaccines are not being used. Objectives The primary objective is prevention. It is expected that the outbreak this year will be tremendous. Vaccination must begin soon and travel restricted. Quarantine should happen with any of the three flu and vaccine for the majority of the workforce should be mandatory (smartraverler.gov.au). Like the changes in healthcare protection for aids, wearing a mask when caring for patients today should be added to prevent contact with the flu viruses. Close monitoring of all three flu should be continued with some increase in the rural areas. All suspected SARS cases must be isolated immediately, although many of these require admission to ICU. This flu seems to travel by infecting small groups and then moving on. It may be necessary to isolate small groups. Infection control in hospitals related to flu transmission should be updated and initiated immediately. All healthcare organizations should screen for SARS in every possible patient. Antiviral medications should be supplied to rural areas for fast use, should there be an outbreak of avian flu. Continue to work rapidly toward a vaccine for avian flu and make it available as soon as possible. There should be training advice present to people who travel to include: Avoiding contract with wild or domesticated birds. Do not spend time at farms or market places Stop young children from putting contaminated objects or their own fingers into their mouths. Eggshells may be contaminated with bird faeces. Wash eggs thoroughly before breaking and wash your hands thoroughly after handling eggs. Avoid foods that contain uncooked eggs. Wash hands, chopping boards and utensils thoroughly after handling raw poultry Cook poultry at high temperatures. (Lee, Hui, Wu, 2003). Things to remember should also be included in this education policy which includes: Bird flu is spread between birds and from birds to humans Exposure to birds, bird faeces or feathers is the most likely way for a human to catch bird flu See a doctor immediately if you have recently returned from a country that has had an outbreak. Options This is a major health threat throughout the world and certainly for the people of Australia. The viruses are getting stronger and our defense systems have not improved. The Chief Health Officer has informed that it is just a matter of time before a major FLU outbreak occurs this year and does not hesitate to say that the powers of the public health officers need to be increased now in order to assure that we are ready when the outbreak occurs. The WHO recommends that there be self isolation for people who have contacted H1N1. They also recommend the vaccine be given immediately. We recommend that it be considered now that the Public Health Department in Australia can make the vaccine mandatory and vaccinate everyone that is not at risk to the vaccine immediately. This would prevent a major outbreak of H1N1 to combine with an outbreak of one of the other flu causing a hybrid of the two. We also recommend the isolation of people who contract H1N1 and their families as necessary, to prevent carrying this virus to work. In the case of SARS, the WHO has recommended complete mandatory isolation and we recommend that this be mandatory in Australia, to prevent spread of the disease. It appears there may be a possibility of a vaccine here and it is recommended that as much time and effort as possible be spent devising this vaccine as soon as possible. Once the vaccine is safe, it is recommended that it also be mandatory as soon as possible. Avian flu or H5N1 is also extremely volatile at this time and must be isolated when it occurs. In this case, however, there are other recommendations. Australians should not travel to those areas in which there is an outbreak and if they do end up there, they should not visit any markets or areas where there are domestic birds kept. Within Australia, all domestic birds should be kept in such a manner as to assure that there is no contact with wild birds and in any area where there is an outbreak, all domestic birds should be killed. Healthcare will need special preparations. All nurses and other healthcare personnel who come in contact with patients should wear a mask when in the room or close contact with any patient. Patients come to hospitals for many reasons and symptoms may not indicate flu until it is too late and healthcare personnel are exposed. Healthcare is already very short of personnel and cannot afford to have many out with flu so prevention must happen here as soon as possible. All healthcare personnel should be vaccinated immediately. Emergency departments and ICUs have taken the blunt of these viruses so far and it must be considered whether there are enough ICU beds to accommodate this problem when it occurs. We must also assure that the personnel in each of these areas is specially trained. The option that is felt to be the best option under the circumstances follows: Mandatory vaccination for H1N1, starting with healthcare personnel Mandatory use of masks in everyday patient care as routine. Mandatory isolation of patients presenting with H1N1 and their families at home. Restrict travel to countries where breakouts of any of three viruses are occurring. Separation of all domestic birds from possibilities of coming in contact with wild birds. Mandatory isolation for SARS patients and their families. Vaccination as soon as one is available. Mandatory isolation of patients with H5N1 and their families and mandatory vaccination when available. Summary These viruses are mutating quickly and stopping them now is very important. Protection of the people and the health care workers that care for them needs to occur soon. The people do not understand at this time because they believe that the government overreacted last time so they will not take steps to protect themselves and therefore our duty is to protect them. The government may find that there are negative comments, in fact the media have made the following comments: Responses heavy handed Responses poorly coordinated Civil liberties are infringed on People worry about loss of income Vaccines have been slow We believe that it is encouraging that we know what previous mistakes were and are now able to overcome them. The government should mention this in their defense. We now know how to manage this process better, we just need to be able to move forward with a policy that allows us to get what needs to be done completed. The government might also use the statistics at the beginning of this paper, as the loss of life could be great is a working policy is not in place. Resources Cameron, P., Rainer, T., & Smit, P. (2003). The SARS epidemic: lessons for Australia. MJA. 178 (10). 478-479. Lee, J., Jui, D., Wu., A. et.al. (2003). A major outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Hong Kong. New England Journal of Medicine. Poutanen, SM, Low DE, Henry H, etal.(2003). Identification of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Canada. New England Journal of Medicine. Tsang KW, Ho PL, Ooi GC, et al (2003).. A cluster of cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome in Hong Kong. New England Journal of Medicine. Gan den Hooger BG, de Jong JC, Gropen J. et al. (2001). A newly discovered human pneumonovirus isolated from young children with respiratory disease. Nature Med. 7. 719-724. World Health Organization.(2003).. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 78. 81-83 Retreived 5/12/2010 from http://www.who.org World Health Organization.(2002). Cumulative number of reported cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.who.org Pandemic H1N1 influenza update Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.fluthreat.com.au/alert.asp?aid=112 Avian Influenza Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.health.gov.au/avian_influenza Health Avian Influenza travel bulletin Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/TravelBulletins/Health_Avian_Influenza Avian Influenza Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.mydr.com.au/respiatory-health/bire_flu- avian-influenza Bird Flu Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Bird_flu?open Lessons learned from H1N1 Virus Pandemic. Retrieved 5/12/2010 from http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2358315/posts Read More