...Columbine Massacre and the several school shootings that followed that. But the most eerie and coincidental reoccurrence is the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’ outbreak. By the fall of 1918 a strain of influenza seemingly no different from that of previous years suddenly turned so deadly, and engendered such a state of panic and chaos in communities across the globe, that many people believed the world was coming to an end. It would later be characterized as a human-to-human transmissible case of swine flu. The virus struck with amazing speed, often killing its victims within just hours of the first signs of infection. So fast did the 1918 strain overwhelm the body's natural defenses, that the usual cause of death in influenza patients---a secondary infection of lethal pneumonia---oftentimes never had a chance to establish itself. Instead, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients would drown in their own body fluids. Not only was the Spanish Flu (as it came to be known) strikingly virulent, but it displayed an unusual preference in its choice of victims---tending to select young healthy adults over those with weakened immune systems, as in the very young, the very old, and the infirm. The normal age distribution for flu mortality was completely reversed, and had the effect of gouging from society's infrastructure the bulk of those responsible for its day to day maintenance. No wonder people thought the social...
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...1. PURPOSE AND CONTENTS General This section outlines the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Policy formalized by the Board of Directors of BANK on DATE. Topics covered in this policy are: Policy Statement Topic 2 Plan Overview Topic 3 Board of Directors and Senior Management Responsibilities Topic 4 Incident Response Team Responsibilities Topic 5 Business Impact Analysis Topic 6 Risk Assessment and Management Topic 7 Travel Impact and Alternatives Topic 8 Staff Training Topic 9 Employee Compensation and Leave of Absence Topic 10 Contact With Public Health Agencies Topic 11 Plan Testing Topic 12 Effective Date All employees of BANK, herein referenced to as the “Bank”, must comply with the terms of this policy immediately. Managers, employees and technical personnel must modify system configurations and procedures, if necessary, to comply with the terms of this policy within TIME PERIOD. 2. POLICY STATEMENT General It is the policy of the Bank to develop, implement and maintain a preparedness strategy with respect to the threat and potential impact of a pandemic influenza event. Pandemics are defined as epidemics or outbreaks of infectious diseases in humans that have the ability to spread rapidly over large areas, possibly worldwide. The United States Government has issued a National Strategy that discusses the threat and potential impact of a pandemic influenza event. The Implementation Plan for the National Strategy identifies roles and...
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...Influenza erupted across the globe as a mere common cold. In two years from the time the epidemic erupted, a fifth of the world’s population had already been infected. Influenza killed around fifty million people worldwide and infected twenty-eight percent of the total American population . It is estimated that 675,000 Americans died of influenza during the pandemic. The impact on the U.S. was of high magnitude, especially within the army in World War I. Due to the economic status of the U.S. at that time, soldiers during that war lived within the trenches and went through very harsh conditions of life. For instance, the total number of the U.S. soldiers who went to Europe to fight the enemy, half of them fell to the influenza virus and not to the enemy. A report by Crosby showed that an estimated 43,000 servicemen mobilized for World War I died of influenza. While others have depicted the country as a “tired nation” in a spiritual sense, Pettit and Bailie argue that post-war apathy was more likely caused by the...
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...Influenza Introduction Did you know that Influenza can be a deadly virus? It is a commonly caught virus around the world many people are affected every year. You could even be one of them. Many people often confuse it with the common cold creating a false sense of safety. Though influenza is not always harmful, it always has a chance to kill you. In this report you will find the history, symptoms, effects, treatment, and how to prevent getting influenza. Origin & History Influenza is a virus that's spread from person to person. It originates among birds and other animals such as pigs. The influenza virus comes in several forms and changes year to year. Influenza has been around for at least 500 years. The First Major Pandemic was in 1918 Known as The...
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...The Spanish Flu was the most devastating pandemic our world has ever seen. Even though few medical records exist, historians believe that 20 – 100 million people were killed by this flu. Despite the number of deaths and the severity and geographic reach of this disease, it merits little attention in the history books. Today one of our greatest medical threats is AIDS. The Spanish Flu is exponential compared to AIDS casualties (Gloria). The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 affected our world like no other disease in history. It changed the ways people sought medical help, the ways physicians treated illness, the role of medical researchers and how society, particularly medical and political leaders respond to pandemic diseases. Influenza is a unique respiratory viral disease infecting the whole respiratory tract-namely, the nose, sinuses, the throat, lungs, and even the middle ear. The disease spreads from person to person by airborne droplets produced when an infected individual coughs or sneezes. Acute symptoms of influenza, including fever, headache, shivering, muscle pain, cough, and pneumonia, are the result of the virus replicating in the respiratory tract, in which infected cells die and slough off (Rosenberg). The Spanish Flu got its name from newspaper reports of that period. It was thought that the influenza infection was carried form Asia to Spain during World War I. During WWI Spain remained neutral and the government did not censor the press. Spanish papers were filled...
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...Avian Influenza, also called bird flu or H5N1 is an infection that naturally occurs among birds. Avian Influenza is carried in wild birds in their intestines but usually do not get sick. On the contrary domesticated birds: turkey, chickens, and ducks pick up the very contagious virus and get very sick. The virus is fatal. Birds that are susceptible to the virus become infected by being in contact with contaminated secretions or excretions. Domesticated birds may become infected with avian influenza virus through direct contact with infected waterfowl or other infected poultry, or through contact with surfaces (such as dirt or cages) or materials (such as water or feed) that have been contaminated with the virus. (CDC) 2010. The spread of avian influenza A viruses from one ill person to another has been reported very rarely, and has been limited, inefficient and not sustained. However, because of the possibility that avian influenza A viruses could change and gain the ability to spread easily between people, monitoring for human infection and person-to-person transmission is extremely important for public health. (CDC) 2010. Avian Influenza Outbreak Outbreaks The most recent reported outbreak was January 2015. The outbreak is still ongoing but has not yet spread to humans. The most recent outbreak in North America with transmission to humans was in Canada in 2004. Health Canada reported two cases of laboratory-confirmed influenza A (H7): one in a person involved...
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...Business Continuity Plan Under Development (May 2006) California State University, Stanislaus CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN May 2006 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION I. II. III. IV. V. Incident Command System Business Impact Analysis Risk Assessment Business Plan for Localized Business Disruption Business Plan for Pandemics Page 3 Pages 4-7 Pages 8-11 Pages 12-13 Pages 14-15 Pages 16-17 Pages 18-19 Pages 20-36 Appendix IV-A: Power Outage Business Continuity Plan Appendix V-A: Pandemic Flu Business Continuity Plan 2 Final CP 5-30-06 CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, STANISLAUS BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLAN May 2006 INTRODUCTION A Business Continuity Plan (BCP) is developed by an institution to plan for and describe how it will respond to and recover from disruptions. These disruptions can be localized threats (e.g., earthquakes, fires, floods, bombs, etc.) or global threats (e.g., Flu Pandemic). As part of the overall Emergency Operations Plan, California State University, Stanislaus has developed, and continues to refine and enhance, a Business Continuity Plan (BCP) for the University. This plan is about maintaining, resuming, and recovering the University’s activities as an educational institution. It considers human factors along with operational issues. The BCP was developed by a team of the University’s senior administrators and department managers representing all University divisions: Business & Finance, Academic Affairs...
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...Columbine Massacre and the several school shootings that followed that. But the most eerie and coincidental reoccurrence is the Spanish Influenza Epidemic of 1918 and the H1N1 ‘Swine Flu’ outbreak. By the fall of 1918 a strain of influenza seemingly no different from that of previous years suddenly turned so deadly, and engendered such a state of panic and chaos in communities across the globe, that many people believed the world was coming to an end. It would later be characterized as a human-to-human transmissible case of swine flu. The virus struck with amazing speed, often killing its victims within just hours of the first signs of infection. So fast did the 1918 strain overwhelm the body's natural defenses, that the usual cause of death in influenza patients---a secondary infection of lethal pneumonia---oftentimes never had a chance to establish itself. Instead, the virus caused an uncontrollable hemorrhaging that filled the lungs, and patients would drown in their own body fluids. Not only was the Spanish Flu (as it came to be known) strikingly virulent, but it displayed an unusual preference in its choice of victims---tending to select young healthy adults over those with weakened immune systems, as in the very young, the very old, and the infirm. The normal age distribution for flu mortality was completely reversed, and had the effect of gouging from society's infrastructure the bulk of those responsible for its day to day maintenance. No wonder people thought the...
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...Pandemic Emergency Plan Name Course Professor Date Overview of Pandemic Emergency plan The Pandemic Emergency Plan is one of the 2015-2016 bills (code CMS–3178–P) addressing the campus preparedness actions and the responses designed to maximizing pandemic impact on operations within the Campus environs, students, and the employees (Dietz, 2012). The plan design is with intents of reading, understanding and exercising in response to threats and occurrences of a pandemic or just any other outbreak that may become a global epidemic. Pandemic means a widespread outbreak of communicable ailments, passing as multiple waves of illness in human population globally (Fagel, 2013). It is also illness with impact to the smaller geographical region. In the case of occurrence of a pandemic, then it shall have higher education among industries that are severely affected due to risks resultants from open and campus accessible and traveling by faculties, students, as well as the staff (PHS COF, 2014). The impacts may include lengthy closure periods of the learning institutions, unprecedented demands on students counseling and heath related services, evacuation and relocation of the students in the residence halls and significant revenue losses. In the case of a pandemic, the greatest challenges experienced in the university include the following: 1. Maintenance of students' progress to degree and research on faculties while in compliance with orders to campus closure. 2. Managing staff, faculty...
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...Introduction Influenza (“the flu") is an infection in the lungs, nose, and throat (respiratory tract). It is caused by a virus. The flu causes many common cold symptoms, as well as a high fever and body aches. It can make your child feel very sick. The flu spreads easily from person to person (contagious). Having your child get a flu shot (influenza vaccination) every year is the best way to prevent your child from getting the flu. Follow these instructions at home: Medicines Give your child over-the-counter and prescription medicines only as told by your child's doctor. Do not give your child aspirin because it has been associated with Reye syndrome. General instructions Use a cool mist humidifier to add moisture (humidity) to the air in your child's room. This can make...
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...Randy In the preceding documents, many different sources express similar points using anecdotal evidence of the Influenza outbreak after World War I. The topics talked about in specific are charity during a tough time, religion and how it relates to epidemics, and ignorance, whether it be the government underestimating influenza, or purely citizens not understanding how to react to the disease. The documents which refer to the theme “charity” are 2, 7, and 9. The first one to do this, 2, speaks of a massive influx of volunteers helping with influenza struck patients. It specifically is from two girls remembering their time volunteering in 1918. It shows how two soldiers were dying every three hours. It emphasizes the point that anyone could...
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...events” (p. 3). This particular article will look at the groups who are vulnerable to influenza. As stated by Hutchins, Truman, Merlin, and Redd (2009) “the US national strategy for pandemic influenza preparedness and response assigns roles to governments, businesses, civic and community-based organizations, individuals, and families” (para. 1). Looking at the group that would have a greater risk there are many barriers. One of the barriers is ensuring that all levels from government, right down to the individual act efficiently and swiftly with the plan of action. Others may be transportation, lack of insurance, lack of knowledge, and the list goes on. There are many vulnerable groups when looking at containing or minimizing an outbreak of influenza. Some of the top groups are newborn’s/infants, poverty/poor class of society (no insurance), and the elderly (>65 years-old). A person then can break the groups down even more and say; anyone within these groups that are compromised with other health problems may be at an even greater risk. With influenza very easily contracted from person to person along with looking at these groups which are highly vulnerable and how they live much of the time, results in a recipe for disaster. Much of the time, homeless/poverty stricken people live in close courters with each other in shelters, opening them up for contracting illness such as influenza. A large portion of the 65 year-old population live in some kind of elderly community or...
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...fall into a vulnerable category. I have had patients tell me that they have neglected to take care of their ailments because they cannot afford to take off a day from work, or they don’t have adequate insurance or any insurance coverage at all. The chosen article focuses on protecting vulnerable populations from pandemic influenza in the United States. According to the article, the vulnerable populations include those with underlying health conditions, pregnant women, children and persons with disabilities as well as correctional populations (to include staff and facilities). It is essential to protect these vulnerable populations in order to effectively slow or mitigate an influenza pandemic. The vulnerable population may have several barriers that prevent them from obtaining the much needed medical services. Such barriers include socioeconomic status, health beliefs, behaviors, and status; and access to health care over which an individual or family may have limited control (Hutchins, 2009, S246). Moral, ethical, legal and economic reasons compel us to protect vulnerable populations during an influenza pandemic. Because influenza is highly contagious, inadequate preparedness or untimely response in vulnerable populations increases the risk of infection for the general population. Recent public health emergencies have reinforced the importance of preparedness and the challenges of effective...
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...You are the nursing administrator for a medical group that expects a severe outbreak of the flu this winter. You hire additional staff to treat the patients and administer shots. Your special project budget was for 1,000 hours of part-time nurses’ services at $40 per hour, for a total cost of $40,000. It was expected that these nurses would administer 400 flu shots and treat 1,600 flu patients. The medical group typically charges $50 for a flu shot and $80 for treating a flu patient. Actually, the group had 1,200 patients who received the flu shot and 1,400 who had the flu and received treatment. On average, it was able to collect $55 per flu shot and $70 per flu patient. Compute the volume, mix, and price revenue variances. How did things turn out for the group considering just revenues? How did they turn out from a profit perspective? Total Revenue for Actual Scenario: (Number of flu shots x charge per flu shot) + (Number of flu patients x charge per patient) =(1200 x 55) + (1400 x 70) = 66,000 + 98,000 = 164,000 Projected Revenue: (Estimated number of flu shots that will be given x estimated charge per flu shot) + (estimated number of flu patients x estimated charge per patient) =(400 x 50) + (1600 x 80) = 20,000 + 128,000 = 148,000 Cost due to additional staff: (number of hours x pay per hour) = (1000 x 40) = $40,000 (also given by problem) Total Profit: (Actual Revenue - Cost) = $164,000 - $40,000 = $124,000 From the perspective of revenue, the...
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...Application of Community Health & Population-Focused Nursing Western Governors University A1. Description of Disease Avian Influenza, commonly referred to as the Bird Flu, is a highly contagious virus amongst birds (avian). These viruses occur naturally and can move quickly from wild aquatic birds to domesticated chickens, ducks and turkeys. Wild birds infected with the avian influenza virus usually do not get sick. The virus that normally infects the respiratory tract, affects wild birds intestines instead. However, our domesticated birds aren’t as fortunate and can become very ill and even die from the virus. There are two different strains of the virus: low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) and highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Poultry infected with LPAI viruses may not cause disease at, could cause mild illness or may not even be detected. On the hand, when HPAI viruses infect poultry it can cause severe disease and high mortality (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2015). According to the CDC, avian influenza outbreaks have been responsible for illness and death in humans in Asia, Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Near East but between 1997 and 2014, the United States experienced only one incident of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in poultry (CDC, 2015). The first bird flu case was reported in 1997 in Hong Kong and affected 18 humans, claiming the lives of six. A2. Epidemiological Determinants Although...
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