May 12, 2006 By Josh Krysak 4 min read

With growing concerns about avian flu nationwide, health officials across the state took part in an online drill Thursday to gauge the region’s preparedness for a pandemic. Fayette County 911 coordinators along with Uniontown Hospital and Highlands Hospital officials participated in the online seminar directed by the state to help prepare emergency personnel for a potential outbreak.

“It was a region-wide exercise put together by the state health department,” County 911 Director Guy Napolillo said. “It lasted about two hours and basically the state health officials threw different scenarios at us and we responded to them.”

“What the state is telling us is that while it would be a global pandemic, it would be a local problem when it comes to treating the illness,” Uniontown Hospital spokeswoman Karen Dei Cas said of the seminar.

According to the state Department of Health, officials are taking several steps to prepare in case a pandemic should reach the U.S.

State officials have developed an Influenza Pandemic Response Plan and are currently monitoring the progress of the disease in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization.

Officials said the state also is working to enhance the state’s early detection capabilities by expanding lab capacities and holding regional planning meetings to prepare local hospitals and emergency officials for the potential fast-moving disease.

“The risk is there,” Richard McGarvey, Department of Health spokesman, said. “This flu virus is different than some we have seen in the past and it has shown a high mortality rate among birds. But the thing that worries everybody more is that there have been some people that have gotten the flu from those animals. We are worried a mutation is taking place.”

Avian flu typically infects birds, including wild birds as well as domesticated chickens, and has been found in birds across Asia and Europe, according to health officials.

While the strain still is only transmittable to humans by direct contact with an infected bird’s feces or saliva, scientists fear the deadly strain, known as the H5N1, will merge with a strain of human flu and create the potential for a worldwide pandemic, officials said.

The last recorded massive pandemic was the Spanish flu pandemic that killed between 20 and 40 million people worldwide, according to health officials.

Officials say the symptoms of bird flu in humans are similar to regular influenza symptoms but often are more severe.

Medical experts said there are no confirmed cases of avian influenza in humans, animals or birds in the U.S. and the disease has yet to mutate into a form transmissible from human to human, which would be required for a pandemic threat.

But McGarvey said residents can prepare for the potential influenza outbreak by creating an emergency kit containing food, water and medicine, receiving an annual flu shot and creating a plan to potentially help neighbors and loved ones in case of an emergency.

Additionally, McGarvey said area residents can take several preventative measures to help reduce their risk of catching or spreading disease by washing their hands often and staying home from work or school when sick.

“The concern really is people have gotten sick from it. Not a lot of people, only about 200, but it is a virus humans have never been exposed to before,” McGarvey said.

McGarvey said federal officials are working on experimental medications that could potential help reduce the spread of the pandemic, but nothing has been produced in large supplies.

And McGarvey said officials at the federal level are working with vaccine manufacturers to create a bird flu vaccine.

But McGarvey said the best thing residents can do to be prepared for the potential threat is to simply educate themselves.

“Just stay informed, that is the key,” McGarvey said.