Logan County Health Department leads in addressing potential flu outbreak

Part 1         

[OCT. 6, 2006]  What's all the talk about bird flu and pandemic flu? Is it a lot of hype or some medical scare that we need not be concerned about? What effect might a serious a flu outbreak have on everyday life here in the Lincoln and Logan County? What, if anything, should we be doing right now?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, "The effects of a pandemic can be lessened if preparations are made ahead of time. Planning and preparation information and checklists are being prepared for various sectors of society, including information for individuals and families."

As the lead agency in our area that protects public health, the Logan County Health Department is taking measures now. The department's emergency response coordinator, Molly Jo Ehlert, has created a plan using local resources and has begun meeting with the medical community, emergency response agencies and representatives of large residential populations, such as prisons, colleges and school officials. Plans are to continue to expand the circle of people who would be need to be called on if a highly contagious, virulent flu were to strike the U.S. City and county government officials, the state's attorney, employers of large industries, and others would also be brought in to help prevent the spread of infection.

Current efforts have included:

• Two meetings of the Logan County Pandemic Influenza Coalition (the second meeting was on Sept. 28).

• Attendance at the state tabletop exercise.

At the state tabletop exercise, Logan County was well-represented, with maybe the most in attendance and from a variety of groups that have worked together in the past. Margie Harris, assistant administrator for the local health department, said that they all already knew each other, which she thought puts us a step ahead of most other counties in the state.

Future plans include:

• Subgroup meetings to work on communications, direct care and support groups, and medical and alternative care sites.

• The Logan County Health Department will use this year's seasonal flu vaccine clinic as a full-scale exercise.

Ehlert said that the advanced planning is to look for "how we can all work together."

Another particularly good aspect of the work that is being done now is that it is usable for many other potential situations, and most of the same response groups would be involved. Whether it should be an emergency response to a hazardous material exposure, or E. coli or some other contagious disease outbreak, it is good footwork to have in place already.

Mark Hilliard, the local health department administrator, was recently appointed to the new Illinois Terrorism Task Force, and work done by that group will also assist in some of the difficult planning issues a flu epidemic would present.

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