States Have Their Own Plans for Bird Flu

A farm employee who did not want to be identified, shows the place where a rooster died with bird flu symptoms near the city of Marilia, 450 kilometers (280 miles) northwest of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2005. The disease threatens the huge chicken industry in Brazil, which has exported US$2.5 billion (EUR2.1 billion) worth of chicken so far this year, surpassing the United States as the world's leading exporter. (AP Photo/Alexandre Meneghini) (Alexandre Meneghini - AP)

"Educating the public on these priority groups will be key," said the Georgia plan.

The Bush plan says the first to be treated for pandemic flu should be patients admitted to the hospital and the highest-risk outpatients, including pregnant women and people whose immune systems have been compromised, such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, as well as health workers sickened by caring for them. It says the first who should be given medicine to prevent contracting the disease are health workers.

Another key aspect of the state plans is surveillance. North Carolina said that in the case of a novel virus alert, officials should monitor persons traveling from geographic areas where the strain has been isolated, they should monitor poultry and swine workers, and military personnel.

In the event of a pandemic alert, officials should consider monitoring schools and daycare centers as a means of measuring the community's overall health.

Kansas addresses the issue of quarantines by stating that the governor may choose to utilize snow days as a way to encourage non-emergency workers to stay home.

McConnon said states will adjust their plans once the Bush administration has finalized details on the amount of vaccine and antivirals that would be available.

"I would not be surprised if most of the states pull their plan down as soon as the federal plan comes out, so that they can revise it," McConnon said. "We know, for example, there will be some new details related to drug distribution. They'll also need to look at the issue of quarantine and how they're handling it."

William Raub, who oversees health emergency preparedness at HHS, said the agency will work with state and local officials in coming months to incorporate the federal government's advice into their own plans. He described state plans as "uneven" in places, such as when to close schools or to discourage public gatherings.

"Some have addressed it quite thoroughly," he said. "Others have more work to do."

__

On the Net:

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologist: http://www.cste.org

HHS flu pandemic site: http://www.pandemicflu.gov