BY HEIDI ULRICHSEN
Sudbury Regional Hospital is putting together a plan to combat a possible avian influenza pandemic that could make about 35 percent of the world's population sick.
Right now, avian influenza is mostly limited to birds, but there have been some recorded cases of the sickness in humans.
There has also been limited transmission of the virus between humans. If the virus mutates, it could become a highly infectious disease.
"We're in the process of developing a plan in the case of an avian flu pandemic. We have a draft plan that we're taking out to the organization over the next couple of weeks, and it will hopefully be finalized (by mid-December)," says Vickie Kaminski, CEO of Sudbury Regional Hospital.
One of the problems associated with providing health care during a pandemic is that a large percentage of hospital workers could become sick because they have a higher exposure to the virus.
It's going to be hard to take care of pandemic victims if there aren't enough doctors and nurses, she says.
Hospital officials will not purchase Tamiflu, a vaccine some believe to be effective against the avian influenza, as part of their pandemic plan, says Kaminski.
The province is stockpiling the vaccine, and it will be handed out to hospitals if it's needed.
But there's no guarantee that Tamiflu will work against the avian influenza, she says.
"The avian flu is believed to not be minimized with Tamiflu. They have apparently been using Tamiflu in some of the birds already, but the virus has mutated. Tamiflu is very good for the regular flu season, but they're not sure how effective it will be."
The good news is that researchers will probably be able to develop an effective vaccine for the virus immediately following a major outbreak, says Kaminski.
Hospital workers, as well as the elderly, frail and young will probably be given the vaccine first.
Because some people won't qualify to get the vaccine, the hospital would have to closely guard their supply, she says.
SRH is taking the avian influenza seriously because the World Health Organization has identified it as a major threat, says Kaminski.
But even if the virus never surfaces in Canada, it's good to have a plan ready in case another type of pandemic arises. "Part of the benefit is, if it's
not the avian flu, there could be any kind of an outbreak that you'll need to be ready for. We'll have a plan that will be generic enough to be used for an outbreak," she says.
"SARS a couple of years ago was a good lesson. We've used those lessons to make this plan."
