Gearing up for bird flu

MONROE -- Bird flu will arrive in the United States in three months or less, according to the federal government. Local schools, health organizations and businesses are preparing for that eventuality.

Vicki Evenson, director of the Green County Health Department, said an average of two to three pandemics affect the world each century. A pandemic occurs when a virus gains the ability to spread easily from person to person, an ability not yet gained by avian influenza.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the bird flu has infected more than 200 people since the first reported human case in 1997. More than half those people have died. Symptoms of bird flu in humans range from typical influenza-like symptoms (fever, cough, sore throat and muscle aches) to eye infections, sever respiratory diseases and other severe and life-threatening complications.

The CDC states most bird flu cases have occurred in previously healthy children and young adults. However, CDC says it's possible the only cases now being reported are those in the most severely ill people, and that the full range of illness caused by the virus has not yet been defined.

"We know something is going to happen," Evenson said. "It's a matter of when and how extreme it will be."

The health department and the Monroe School District are developing plans to deal with cases of bird flu.

The health department has been working on bio-terrorism and infectious disease practices. It will conduct an exercise Aug. 23 in Brodhead, in conjunction with local law enforcement agencies and Monroe Clinic. The department will set up a fake clinic and call on the state's Interim Pharmaceutical Stockpile, a strategy to purchase, store and distribute pharmaceuticals to hospitals and local public health departments.

The IPS provides treatment to prevent disease and death and health care and first responder personnel and their family members for up to three days. Pharmaceuticals from the IPS are intended to be delivered to any requesting hospital or public health department within four hours of activation.

Monroe School District Superintendent Craig Jefson said addressing a bird flu case is not in the district's current crisis management manual. He said the district is reviewing the manual, but in the meantime would take direction from the Green County Health Department on how to respond to the bird flu.

Jefson said the district is more concerned with combating mumps, which has made its way into Green County.

"We're getting hit with so many things right now, and the mumps has our attention right now," Jefson said. "That's 25 days away from school for a mumps case."

Jefson said the district would use its pandemic influenza planning checklist to address a case of the bird flu. The 31-point checklist is divided into four sections: planning and coordination, continuity of student learning and core operations, infection control policies and procedures and communications planning.

Among the tasks for the district to complete are:

* Contribute to the Green County Health Department's operational plan for surge capacity of health care (e.g. schools designated as contingency hospitals, schools feeding vulnerable populations).

* Developing alternative ways to continue instruction, such as Web-based distance learning, telephone trees, mailed lessons and assignments, instruction via local radio and television stations.

While the department and school district develop response plans, Monroe Clinic and the city's largest employer, Swiss Colony, already have plans in place if the bird flu appeared in the Monroe area.

Dr. Amy Johnson, chairperson for Infection Control at Monroe Clinic, said the hospital "is quite adequately prepared" and has a protocol in place to handle a case of the bird flu.

Sharon Schmidt, an infection control nurse at the clinic, said someone suspected of having the bird flu would be immediately isolated. Personnel, likely wearing airborne protection, would treat the person and the case would be closely monitored.

"We would do everything in our power to prevent any additional spread of the disease," Schmidt said.

The health department would come to the clinic to determine if any exposure had taken place. Clinic personnel would take airborne and space precautions with the potentially infected patient while continuing treatment.

Like Monroe Clinic, Swiss Colony, with a full-time workforce of 1,100, has a standardized procedure to handle a bird flu case. Key staff at the company, including Director of Human Resources Tim Wolff, are constantly gathering the latest information on the disease.

"Based on exposure, we would determine the risk to employees," Wolff said. "We would then eliminate or reduce activities, distribute safety gear or move production to another one of our facilities."

Wolff and Evenson stress more needs to be done than having a plan. They say educating everyone about the disease is paramount.

"We've dealt with mumps and pertussis in our area, and those may be precursors to helping us get the community ready (for the bird flu)," Evenson said. "We need to get the word out."

Jim Winter can be reached at