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Emergency Planning
Flu information and prevention
Pandemic flu
Planning for
international travel
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Pandemic flu
What is a Pandemic/Pandemic flu? A pandemic occurs when a disease spreads rapidly between people all over the world. Pandemic flu would be an influenza (flu) that has spread around the world.
How does it happen? The swift spread of a pandemic flu happens because people are not immune to the new flu virus, and an effective vaccine would take months to develop.
In 1918, 1957, and 1968 the flu season in the U.S. was especially severe, and resulted in a much higher number of illnesses and deaths. This more dangerous form is called pandemic flu. Public health experts believe that a flu pandemic is likely to occur again in the future. Scientists worry that a mutant form of avian flu, under certain circumstances, could eventually cause a flu pandemic, although this scenario may never happen.
Are pandemic flu and avian flu the same thing?
Pandemic flu is not a type of flu but is the way the flu spreads. The avian flu (H5N1or bird flu) currently in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe may be spread to people who directly handle infected birds or bird waste, but currently can’t be spread easily from person to person. However, this virus could change allowing people to pass it to each other. If that happens and people in many countries get sick, the virus becomes a pandemic flu strain.
Don’t people get the flu every year?
The flu we get each year is called “seasonal” flu. Although the virus changes slightly from year to year, it is always a version of the flu from recent years so most of us have build-up some immunity or tolerance to it. The flu that may develop from the bird flu would be completely new and that makes it more dangerous because we have no immunity to it.
What would be the impact of a pandemic flu?
*No one has immunity to new flu virus many people could become ill and die. In the United States alone
deaths could be in the millions.
*Because a pandemic illness will create simultaneous world wide outbreaks, human and material resources will be limited.
*A pandemic flu may come in waves and last weeks to months.
*Effective preventative medicines such as vaccines won’t be available for months after a pandemic flu starts.
St. Lawrence Universty Pandemic Preparation Planning Team
St. Lawrence has assigned a four-member core team to coordinate planning processes and materials for the University. The team members are:
Lisa Cania, associate vice president for University relations
Ted Coviello, director of campus support services
Patricia Ellis, director of health and counseling services
Patrick Gagnon, director of security and safety
The University's preliminary plan has three phases:
Phase 1: Social Isolation: If health authorities confirm efficient human-to-human transmission anywhere in the world, this confirmation will trigger Phase I to begin. We will focus on core services and maximize health and safety, in general by reducing opportunities for contact with potential victims of the flu.
Phase 2: Evacuation: If a pandemic is confirmed, our first step will be to work to evacuate the University so students can return to the safety of their homes and employees can minimize contacts with others.
Phase 3: Quarantine: We must be prepared for the possibility that we are unable to evacuate many or all of our students and employees, and we are placed under quarantined by civil authorities. In a quarantine, we will work to keep all who are on campus as safe and healthy as possible.
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With grateful acknowledgement for resource information from the Campus Safety, Health and Environmental Health Association (CSHEMA) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), Bates College and SUNY Canton.
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