A pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of disease for which no person has immunity. Easily spread from person-to-person, a pandemic can cause extensive sickness, significant absenteeism, overcrowded hospitals and offices of doctors and other health care providers, and loss of life. We have faced influenza pandemics before, as recently as 1968, and will face a pandemic again.

Although there is no imminent threat, many health professionals are concerned that avian flu could become the next pandemic, because it is spread easily through migratory birds and thus worldwide, and it has the potential to mutate into a virus easily transmitted among people. There is currently no vaccine for avian flu. Thus, now is the prudent time to make plans to respond in the event of a pandemic.

Although avian flu has not been shown to transmit easily from person-to-person, it has been passed, in isolated circumstances, from bird to human. Those who have become infected with avian flu often lived and worked in very close proximity to poultry. Azerbaijan, Cambodia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam are the only countries confirmed by the World Health Organization that have reported human cases of avian flu. There have been no reports of any human or bird in Tennessee or anywhere in the U.S. testing positive for the H5N1 virus.

We must expect certain events during a pandemic. First, pandemics are global epidemics that occur everywhere at once and spread quickly. Second, hospitals will likely be overwhelmed and unable to accommodate all patients that would otherwise be admitted. Third, antiviral medications like Tamiflu and Relenza are of uncertain benefit and in limited supply; and, again, a vaccine will not be available.

In November, the Tennessee Department of Health created the Pandemic Influenza Planning Committee, comprised of business, health care, emergency response, education and community leaders, for the purpose of revising an earlier version of the Tennessee Influenza Pandemic Preparedness Plan according to new Federal guidelines issued that same month. The updated plan will further address the specific threat of a possible influenza pandemic in Tennessee. The plan also includes input from the leaders selected to serve on the Pandemic Influenza Planning Committee, who have diligently represented the wishes of their respective sectors during the planning process, seeking to ensure that economic, business and community activities would be least disrupted or impacted in the face of an outbreak.

While the revised plan is schedule to be ready later this spring, a State Pandemic Readiness and Emergency Planning Summit will pull together an even broader spectrum of community and business members from across the state and from many industries, specialties and sectors. Hosted by Governor Phil Bredesen, the April 10 conference will also feature U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt, who has asked that all states hold a similar planning conference.

The role of government in this case is to empower people to prepare to protect their families and businesses. Essential to the partnership between government and citizens is honesty about the challenges we anticipate if a pandemic were to occur in the near future. An effective response to a pandemic will not reside with government officials and health care providers alone. State and federal officials will share guidance, education and resources, but each community will need to pull together to care for its own.

The business community must also be an essential partner in preparedness for a pandemic response. Business contingency plans should be developed to enable workers to stay home when sick and to protect themselves in the workplace. Some federal planners have estimated that businesses could expect 40 percent absenteeism at the height of a pandemic. Continued on next page »

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