5/3/2006 BOARD OF HEALTH Minutes

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At .40 Tobin of .4 t _ BOARD OF HEALTH 1 16 GREAT NECK ROAD FORTH t.3 F ■cyt�r, +� x h 1 r + MASHPEE. MA 02649 ! i:i:c4 •: (508} 539 1 ERCT. FAX -0 May 8, 2006 Local ABC affiliates will be airing a movie, "Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America",on Tuesday,May 9 at 8 p.m. Eastern time. Information on the movie can be Found at http://abc.Lyo.com/movies/birdflu.htmI The A13C Movie"Fatal Contact:Bird Flu in America"is a movie, not a documentary. It is a work of fiction designed to entertain and not a factual accounting of a real world event. There is no influenza pandemic in the world at this time. The H ? 1 avian influenza is almost exclusively a disease of birds. The H1 virus has not yet appeared in the U.S. Should the H5N 1 virus appear in the US, it does not mean the start of a pandemic. The next influenza pandemic could be substantially less severe than what the movie depicts or that occurred in 19 IS. For example, the influenza pandemics of 1957/55 and 1968/69 caused so much less illness and death than did the 1918/19 pandemic that many Americans at that time did not distinguish there from seasonal influenza and were unaware that a pandemic was underway. :- The film does depict scenarios that could unfold should a severe pandemic ever develop, including limited availability of antivirals and vaecincs as well as the potential for disruption of supplies, medicines and other essential services. The film also illustrates the expected months-long delay in developing an effective vaccine against a pandemic strain of influenza once it emerges. Congress has approved funding for the Department of Health and Human Services to make significant financial investments to improve the technology for vaccine development and to guild up our domestic vaccine production capacity, to ensure more rapid availability of vaccine for the population in a pandemic. while the H5 N I virus has not yet appeared in the U.S.,and there is no 1 nflue n a pandeinic in the world at this time, it is important for all Americans to be informed about this potential public health threat and some of the steps individual Americans can tape to protect themselves and their families in the event of a p n cmic. While the movie does serve to wise awareness about avian and pandemic flu, we hope it will inspire preparation—not pa nic. There are steps individuals, families and communities can take to prepare. lou can keep a supply of food and medicines on band in case you have to stay home, you can practice good public health measures life frequent hand washing and staying home when sick. Additionally,the film highlights ars important aspect ofplanning—individual and community planning and cooperation that will be vital to sustaining communities and neighborhoods during an extended wave of an influenza pandemic. HHS has developed an extensive set of planning documents, including planning checklists for businesses, schools, health eare providers, eonmunity o rganiz ations and states as we I[as an individual and family planning guide. AH of these materials and additional information are available at www.pandemicflu.gov.