Sick 2nd priority ..WHO chief Nabarro

Last Update: Sunday, January 29, 2006. 11:00am (AEDT)

UN envisages 'flu-caster' in bird flu fight

The United Nations is considering using "flu-casters", modelled on
television weather forecasters, to publicise vital information if a global flu
pandemic strikes.

They could broadcast latest developments from emergency-response
facilities at the UN's World Health Organisation (WHO) in Geneva,
according to David Nabarro, the UN's top influenza coordinator.

"The flu-casters would draw out the maps and keep people engaged at
regular intervals - beaming it from the WHO bunker," Mr Nabarro told
Reuters in an interview at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

The WHO's Geneva bunker, a $A6.6 million facility built in a former
cinema, is the world's nerve-centre for tracking bird flu and other deadly
diseases.

The room will become a global command centre if the H5N1 bird flu
virus, which has killed at least 83 people in Asia since 2003, mutates into
a form which spreads easily among humans and sparks a flu pandemic
which could kill millions.

The screen-filled bunker could link the "flu-casters" with TV networks via
satellite feeds.

Mr Nabarro was speaking as the United Nations analysed results from a
top-level catastrophe simulation to set policies that envisage
governments, companies and the media working together to fight a
global flu pandemic.

The exercise has produced surprising conclusions that could prove key
should the disease start to spread quickly among humans.

Higher priority

One of the most important conclusions was that maintaining
infrastructure - water, power and the provision of food - could take a
higher priority than providing care to the sick, Mr Nabarro told Reuters.

"It is maybe even more important to concentrate on
the essentials of life for those who are living than it is to
focus on the treatment of those who are sick," he said.

"We learned a lot."

A pandemic could see travel and trade halted, workers forced to stay
home, schools closed and a number of other dramatic measures designed
to limit the spread.

The UN aims to forge fixed partnerships with key actors who would be
involved in any pandemic response effort, which would include
community groups, aid groups like the Red Cross, businesses and the
media, Mr Nabarro said.

"The focus on business is important, they have skills and can do things
that governments cannot," he said.

Clear communications would also be crucial.

The simulation assumed that the world was 40 days into the outbreak of
a deadly pandemic.

"What became clear to us was, if we don't work together effectively and
get prepared, we will be badly hit by that pandemic," he said.

The pandemic preparations will call for novel approaches if officials are to
limit the potential catastrophic damage - such as the use of mobile
phone technology to distribute questionnaires and information, Mr
Nabarro said.

Mr Nabarro also warned there was still a lot of work to be done in the
event of an outbreak.

"Governments are starting to realise that they are nowhere near prepared
for the damage that it could cause," he said at a panel discussion.


http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200601/s1557327.htm



Edited by Rick

Rick...he must know this flu is so bad that there is no use worrying about the people who have it because it is a lost cause.  There is so much about this flu that they are not allowing it to go public. 

"It is maybe even more important to concentrate on
the essentials of life for those who are living than it is to
focus on the treatment of those who are sick," he said.

"We learned a lot."

 

Ah...........the plot thickens.........Yes the governments will save you....if you're healthy.  You're worth more.