Don't panic yet .... just stock up
Julia Medew
May 1, 2009
AUSTRALIANS could soon be asked to stock their pantries with food and water and prepare for an emergency, according to the Federal Government's pandemic flu plan.
A manual outlining Australia's response says that when the World Health Organisation moves to phase five, which it did yesterday, Australia will be in its "delay phase".
Thermal scanners: how they work
Thermal scanners have been deployed to Australia's international airports as the swine flu continues to spread.
This phase recommends that the Government implement border surveillance. It also recommends people develop plans to stay at home. This includes a direction to stock pantries with supplies for 14 days.
A Government website suggests three litres of water for each person each day, dried and long-life food, toilet paper, batteries, candles, matches, manual can openers and water sterilising tablets.
Analgesics, masks, gloves, a thermometer, disinfectant and prescription medications should also be stockpiled.
Australians should also start thinking about babysitters if schools or child-care centres shut; tending to elderly people who may need help; and keeping by the phone a list of emergency contacts.
A Department of Health and Ageing spokesman said yesterday the department was not telling Australians to do anything more yet. "As soon as anything changes, we will be putting messages out on our website."
The plan predicts that a severe pandemic could infect 10 per cent of Australians and kill 250,000 people over seven to 10 months.
Meanwhile, travellers have been warned to expect significant delays after thermal scanners started screening passengers for high temperatures at all of Australia's international airports last night.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon yesterday announced the measures alongside mandatory health declaration forms for all passengers coming into Australia from overseas.
The action was taken in response to the World Health Organisation lifting its alert to level 5 — declaring a swine flu pandemic imminent and making countries implement plans.
As of 5pm yesterday, Australian health authorities had tested 114 people. None had tested positive. None were listed as probable cases.
Ms Roxon said airline passengers who declared flu symptoms or were detected by the scanners as having a high temperature would be referred to clinical staff.
"These people will have their temperature taken and may be required to provide a nose or throat swab," she said.
"Public health authorities can put anyone who is believed to have been exposed to swine flu under surveillance until their status has been resolved."
Ms Roxon urged people to be patient because the thermal detectors were expected to cause delays and would pick up high temperatures regardless of the cause.
"We believe that this is a sensible precautionary measure to be taking," she said. "We believe that the inconvenience will be worthwhile."
Passengers will also be forced to provide their addresses and contact details so health authorities can track them down if need be.
Ms Roxon said the scanners would not necessarily be able to identify everyone at risk because the incubation period — where symptoms may not appear — is about two days.
She said the Government was not advising people to wear face masks yet, but did recommend people maintain good hygiene by washing their hands and covering their mouths when coughing or sneezing.
The Government has nearly 9 million doses of antiviral medication and about 40 million face masks in reserve.
"It does look increasingly inevitable that at some point, despite our best efforts, someone in Australia may well end up with swine flu," she said.
Mexico's health secretary said the number of new swine flu cases was stabilising.
Jose Angel Cordova said he hoped that trend will continue and that a vaccine would be available in six months.
European ministers meanwhile rejected an EU-wide ban on travel to Mexico, the epicentre of the outbreak which on Thursday raised the confirmed death toll to 12, and confirmed it had 260 cases of swine flu.
A Mexican toddler also died from the disease during a visit to Texas.
"We have to be careful, we have to exercise vigilance, we should not panic, we have to be prepared," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou told an emergency meeting of health ministers in Luxembourg.
She warned though that an international flu pandemic was "likely" although it would not necessarily cause widespread deaths.
"It is very likely that we will reach a pandemic, but this does not mean that it will be deadly," she told journalists.
US health officials confirmed there were 111 cases of the H1N1 virus spread across 13 states, and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) gave assurances they would receive ample supplies of anti-viral drugs.
The White House confirmed an official who had been part of President Barack Obama's delegation during a trip to Mexico earlier this month appeared to have contracted swine flu, and had likely infected three members of his family.
The United States has recorded the highest number of cases of swine flu outside Mexico, and has now set up a laboratory in Mexico to let scientists quickly diagnose cases of the H1N1 flu virus in the country.
"This is a really big step. It's going to help us with the studies there, because we'll really be able to confirm cases and then look at risk factors for those cases, how they're treated," said Richard Besser, acting CDC head.
Britain, the Netherlands, Peru and Switzerland all confirmed fresh cases of the virus. Some 13 countries outside of Mexico have now been affected.
theage.com.au |
