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September 26, 2007

Flu pandemic: How prepared are we? / Video

WASHINGTON -- If an influenza pandemic hits, there won't be enough stockpiles of key supplies -- medicine, food and more -- so it is up to individual citizens and communities to prepare as best they can, Rhode Island's chief emergency medical officer told a House panel today.

But the waning of last year's flu threat is itself an obstacle to proper planning for an eventual pandemic because public interest in the topic has waned, Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo told a subcommittee of the House Homeland Security Committee.

Cirillo, chief of the state Health Department's emergency response center, was one of several federal, state and local officials who testified about the nation's level of preparedness for a flu pandemic.

``I very much fear another Hurricane Katrina situation,'' said Rep. James R. Langevin, chairman of the panel on emerging threats. The Rhode Island Democrat said delays in identifying principal federal officials after the hurricane led to needless losses of life.

Langevin said planning for an influenza pandemic is problematic because it is hard ``to fathom both the potential casualties and the impact.''

Langevin questioned whether the Homeland Security and Health and Human Services Departments have sorted out their role and responsibilities in for fighting a pandemic.

Cirillo said the amount of federal money for pandemic preparedness is decreasing, so the state doesn't have enough money to ensure care of the number of patients expected in a pandemic.

Cirillo also cited trends in the medical system as limiting its ability to respond to a pandemic. For example, he noted that hospitals have cut down on their stockpiles of vital supplies in order to save money.

Nevertheless, Cirillo said government at all levels has taken steps to improve pandemic preparedness. For example, he described how Rhode Island has created a medical emergency command center that would coordinate pandemic response. Some state-level stockpiling of vital supplies has occured, he said.

Cirillo said every citizen has a role in preparing for a flu pandemic in a number of basic ways -- stockpiling food and water, for example. He said citizens can consult a federal Web site, http://www.pandemicflu.gov, that offers checklists for preparedness.

Video: Dr. L. Anthony Cirillo speaks about the country's and Rhode Island's state of preparedness for a pandemic.

-- John E. Mulligan, Journal Washington bureau

Posted by Andrea Panciera  at 3:18 PM | Permalink

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Mary Ann | September 27, 2007 5:15 PM link

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