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Video lecture

Welcome to disasters from shock to recovery. The past disasters that we have studied in this class had mostly to do with atmospheric disturbances are natural processes. This week we'll look into an entirely different hazard. Pandemic influenza are case study focuses on the response in the US during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. But let's take a couple of steps back in time to understand how the Center for Disease Control prepare for the event in 2009. The first human case of H5 N1 or avian influenza was detected in China in 1997. At the time there was an alarm as to how it was transmitted and how to stop it spread.Scientists discovered that it wasn't very efficient at at transmitting from person to person. And thus direct animal exposure was to be blamed for most infections. At the time avian influenza did not turn into our world wall pandemic but scientists and policymakers were willing to invest time money and effort to prepare for such an eventuality. H5 N1 made its appearance again in 20052006. Spreading rapidly not only in South East Asia but also in Africa Europe and the Middle East. Public health officials officials in the US were aware of the potential threat of this virus and we're preparing for the worst think something like the great influenza pandemic of 1918 that cost nearly a 100 million deaths and 500 million infections worldwide. Us public health officials also use experiences from the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Sars outbreak of 2003 to prepare for the pandemic in 2009. This was a potential worldwide pandemic. So the World Health Organization on several member countries created international health regulations in 2005 as well. Officials were fearful and willing to prepare because of the uncertainty associated with the scope duration and effects of this kind of outbreaks. So a lot of the planning in the US and the world was based on the H5N1 outbreak the sars outbreak among other small ones. But H1 N1 in the US will bring its own challenges to the CDC. The H1N1 outbreak in the US was different than anything they had planned for before. The initial outbreak started in Mexico and rapidly arrive in the US. Most scenarios where a plan for overseas outbreaks that slowly spread. They had planned for a specific strings like i stronger strain of avian influenza or sars Influenza common but ever changing virus which makes Korean vaccines less effective. People will not take-the initial symptoms seriously. It's just a call right. Other viruses like Ebola had much more noticeable an alarming symptoms.Finally H1N1 is efficiently transmitted from human to human but also from animals to humans because this was a type a string. So there was a higher chance of contamination and the virus could mutate easily. Think about a commons needs that reaches six feet away from the infected person. On April 2009 the first two cases of H1N1 where identify all thanks to good timing from the CDC who had just developed a testing kit that included this one string h one. The two children infected had initially tested positive for influenza type a but it wasn't clear what strain. The CDC test came just in time but he brought more questions that identify strain was swine H1 type a but they couldn't find a connection between patients and any contact with peaks or among themselves. With any Type a influenza the CDC was already on high alert launching investigations on warnings as more and more cases started to show up. The CDC immediately activated its emergency operation center and was quick to identify priority areas to be vaccinated while more vaccines were produced. They also provided guidelines that reduce chaos or more infections They had to act quickly with constantly flowing information whatever new information they had was communicated to keep local state and federal officials and other nations as well. By June 2009 H1N1 pandemic affecting 73 countries. The CDC in the US coordinate the distribution of almost 126.9 million doses of H1N1 vaccine manufacturer only weeks after the first cases. 81 million of those were for US citizens at risk. And the rest for foreign countries suffering outbreaks. Some of the most important lessons learn during the H1N1 pandemic are the following. This need to plan for more general outbreak scenarios. Partnerships between public health officials local state health departments school and businesses are crucial for speedy response. Preparedness pays off existence seasonal influenza surveillance systems were useful as they just needed to be scaled up for a larger event but the knowledge was there Surveillance systems help information gathering decision-making on forecasting. Pandemic exercises are a pain in the neck but they provide a helpful information with processes and procedures regardless of the type of the virus. Moving forward the CDC is also focusing on developing more efficient impact assessment frameworks that looks at measures of transmission and measures of severity. This means that the health officials will have these estimates available earlier than previous measures-and is designed to accept multiple inputs. Better ways to visualize data using military inspire mapping and communications in the flu view website. And management of data for better understanding and compiling of lessons learned.Even though the US has a well-funded and efficient systemH1N1 brought its own challenges and the people in charge of the emergency. We're capable of using existing resources to service communities affected. Novel influenza strains keep scientists and public health officials on the move constantly updating and reviewing systems. But how do you think other countries Less resources may have fair. Could some of these practices be replicated abroad.