By any reckoning, the 2009 H1N1 flu pandemic was a rough ride, considering vaccine production and delivery issues, intense news coverage, and the flu itself, which hit people hard. There was plenty of bad news if you were unlucky enough to catch the virus, but the good news was that we learned lessons that will serve us if H1N1 resurfaces in 2010 or when the next flu pandemic strikes.
The good
A flu pandemic has one crucial characteristic that separates it from natural disasters and most other catastrophes: it's almost completely avoidable. During this past pandemic, we found how effective the simple, low-cost, and no-cost ways to stem the spread of H1N1 could be. We learned the value of the time-tested basics:
- Get immunized (when available).
- Wash your hands well with soap.
- Cover your cough using the inside of your elbow rather than your hand.
- Limit your exposure to other people if you have flu-like symptoms.
- We also learned the value of two powerful tools: education and organization.
- Education: Keep your workers up to date and knowledgeable about where they can find accurate information, such as the State of Oregon flu website (www.flu.oregon.gov).
- Organization: The middle of a pandemic is not the time to create your human resources policies or to train staff. See www.flu.oregon.gov for information on workplace planning.
The really good
Workers have now been trained in how to prevent the spread of germs and will likely repeat that prevention behavior for years to come. And that can only make workers healthier in the long run. If we paid as much attention to annual seasonal flu as we did to H1N1, far fewer hospitalizations and deaths would result.
The bad
Usually drug manufacturers have more time to create and test a flu vaccine. When the vaccine was finally created and judged to be effective, the outbreak was well underway. To make matters worse, there were substantial breakdowns with the production and delivery of the H1N1 vaccine. Rumors were rampant, and employers found themselves without clear policies in place addressing employee leave.
The ugly
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that between April and mid-November 2009, 47 million people were infected with H1N1 nationally, with up to 213,000 hospitalizations, and up to 9,820 deaths. Some estimates are higher; some are lower.
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A brief history of H1N1
H1N1, or swine flu, is a strain of influenza with genetic variants that have surfaced over the years, including the Spanish flu of 1918 (which killed at least 50 million people) and the Russian flu of 1977. The latest strain was declared a pandemic in the United States in the spring of 2009. When H1N1 resurfaced in the fall, officials expected the most intense flu season in years would peak early and claim more lives than seasonal influenza typically does. This is why experts feverishly encouraged prevention tactics early on.
We now know that the spread of H1N1 peaked even earlier than expected, and that it was less virulent and deadly than past H1N1 pandemics. Its impact certainly would have been worse if not for the wealth of prevention information available.
For more links and resources on flu prevention, visit >Safety > Infectious Diseases/Pandemic Influenza. |
(Reprinted from Comp News, Spring 2010)