Back in 1976, when swine flu killed one U.S. soldier and infected around 200 other soldiers in an outbreak at Fort Dix, NJ, the government was determined to vaccinate every American against the virus. Over 50 million people were vaccinated between October and December of that year before reports surfaced that the vaccine might be more deadly than the virus. Vaccinations were discontinued.
Now U.S. officials find themselves once again rushing to contain a swine flu virus that could be the first pandemic since the so-called Hong Kong flu killed around 1 million people in the 1960s. A U.S. public health emergency was declared last week to try and contain an outbreak of the virus, which has killed at least 150 people in Mexico and has spread to several countries including the United States. The U.S. course of action this time? Ship millions of doses of federally-stockpiled anti-viral drugs like Tamiflu to all 50 states for use by men, women and children, including very young children who would not normally be prescribed the drugs.
Kentucky had one confirmed and one probable case of swine flu reported to the Centers for Disease Control as of last Thursday, although schools remained open and it appeared to be business as usual—except for some reports that sales of anti-bacterial hand gel are up. Having survived the wildly sensationalized bird flu scare of 2005, most Kentuckians probably doubt this recent swine flu outbreak will wreak widespread destruction. No one appears panicked.
We must understand that humans might not have any natural immunity to this combination animal-human virus, making it potentially disastrous. What’s more, this is the first virus that has prompted the World Health Organization to raise its pandemic alert level to Phase 5 because the flu is spreading with “relative ease,” according to CNN. MSNBC reports that the WHO never raised the level above Phase 3 before last week.
When the level reaches 6, the world is believed to have a full-scale pandemic on its hands.
World governments are doing all they can to prevent that from happening. They are stressing the need for the first line of defense—good personal hygiene—plus distributing anti-viral meds, face masks, and planning for what could be a full-blown health emergency. Some have even said they will quarantine visitors with the virus. Incredibly, more than 11,000 state and local health department jobs were cut nationwide last year due to state budget shortfalls, based on recent news reports. These jobs and more will be critical if a pandemic ever is imminent since health departments not only treat the sick but track disease that could lead to a national—or worldwide—health problem.
The good news is that states can help each other prepare for emergencies by sharing resources whenever possible, whether the need is monitoring disease outbreaks, analyzing water and food or more. One way to do this is through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, a federal law that encourages collaboration between states, increases state access to other states’ resources and generally receive fellow states’ support.
The present situation with swine flu is watch-and-wait. We hope the virus fizzles out just as the last one of note did over 30 years ago. We do not want to panic. But we do need to take whatever precautions we can now, and plan better in the future, to ensure the greater good in what could potentially become an unmanageable situation in any worst case scenario.
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