OHDEN, the Occupational Health Disaster Expert Network

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May 31, 2006

• WHO Rapid Advice Guidelines on pharmacological management of humans infected with avian influenza A (H5N1) virus

Evidence-based recommendations based on availability (or not) of neuraminidase inhibitors, including variable treatment regimens for critically ill, less sick and family contacts.

Summary page or comprehensive document is available. May 2006

Posted to International page, WHO section.

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June 28, 2006

• WHO pandemic influenza draft protocol for rapid response and containment

Updated draft 30 May 2006

• Background

• Recognizing the event: detection, investigation, and reporting of early signals
• Verifying the event: risk assessment, immediate control measures and deployment of international field teams
• Containing the event: rapid response and containment operation
• Phase one: standard measures to reduce transmission
• Phase two: exceptional measures, including use of the antiviral stockpile
• Deployment of the antiviral stockpiles for containment operation
• Annex 1: Flow chart for influenza response and containment operations
• Annex 2: Planning, preparedness and reporting guidelines for the WHO global stockpile of antivirals
• Annex 3: SOP for requesting and distributing the WHO global stockpile of antivirals
• Annex 4: Roles and responsibilities of countries and WHO in rapid response and containment
• Annex 5: WHO operational communications

Contributed: Bill Kojola, Dept. of Occupational Safety and Health, AFL-CIO

Posted to International / WHO section

 

• CDC Update: Lab. Testing for Susp. Infect. with H5N1 Virus

Distributed via Health Alert Network Wednesday, June 07, 2006

Posted to Federal Page, CDC Section

 

• Multi-source evaluation / critique of Nationwide Catastrophic Event Preparedness

Dept. Homeland Security Fact Sheet: Nationwide Plan Review

DHS Fact Sheet: Nationwide Plan Review Initial Conclusions


Inst. of Medicine's "Future of Emergency Care" series

Posted to Federal Page, Miscellaneous section

 

• Government of Canada Pandemic Influenza Portal

 

Contributed by Stewart Sampson Provincial Mgr, OH&S Prof. Svcs, OH&S Div., Nova Scotia Dept of Environ. & Labour

Posted to International Page, Canadian resource section

November 6, 2006

• WHO Strategic Action Plan for Pandemic Influenza

Responding to the avian influenza pandemic threat, Updated Feb 2006, Recommended strategic actions (24 pages)

Posted to International Page, WHO section

December 30, 2006

• Progress Report, Federal Pandemic Planning and Preparation

Summary document, with enumerated accomplished & pending elements. CIDRAP digest and review.

Posted to Federal Page, PandemicFlu.gov section

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• Special Supplement, Medical Journal of Australia, Nov 20, 2006

HTML PDF

Foreword Tony Abbott — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S29.

HTML PDF

Editorial Peter C Doherty — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S31.

HTML PDF

Clinical scenarios Moira McKinnon — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S32-S34.

HTML PDF

The Australian response: pandemic influenza preparedness John S Horvath, Moira McKinnon and Leslee Roberts — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S35-S38.

HTML PDF

The influenza viruses Alan W Hampson and John S Mackenzie — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S39-S43.

HTML PDF

Pandemic influenza: clinical issues Mark Boyd, Kate Clezy, Richard Lindley and Rod Pearce — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S44-S47.

HTML PDF

Laboratory diagnosis of human seasonal and pandemic influenza virus infection Dominic E Dwyer, David W Smith, Michael G Catton and Ian G Barr — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S48-S53.

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Infection control and pandemic influenza Peter J Collignon and John A Carnie — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S54-S57.

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Antivirals in the management of an influenza pandemic Mary Ellen Harrod, Sean Emery and Dominic E Dwyer — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S58-S61.

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Pandemic vaccines: promises and pitfalls Robert Booy, Lorena E Brown, Gary S Grohmann and C Raina MacIntyre — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S62-S65.

HTML PDF

General practice: professional preparation for a pandemic Nick Collins, John Litt, Michael Moore, Tania Winzenberg and Kelly Shaw — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S66-S69.

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Pandemic influenza and critical infrastructure dependencies: possible impact on hospitals Ralf L Itzwerth, C Raina MacIntyre, Smita Shah and Aileen J Plant — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S70-S72.

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Ethical issues in pandemic planning Adrienne Torda — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S73-S76.

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Urgent strategic research into influenza to inform health policy and protect the public Tania C Sorrell and Carey Lonsdale — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S77-S79.

HTML PDF

Epilogue: Preparing for an influenza pandemic in Australia Sean Emery, Dominic E Dwyer and Moira McKinnon — Med J Aust 2006; 185 (10): S80.

Contributed by Louise Kosta (chief writer, The Human Ecologist). Posted to International page, other section.

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• New Book, Bird Flu: A Virus of Our Own Hatching , by Michael Greger, M.D.

Director, Public Health and Animal Agriculture, The Humane Society of the United States. The whole text is freely available, and all proceeds from the sale of the paper copies (& the author's speaking engagements) are to be donated to charity. The book includes 3168 references to other publications.

Submitted by the author to include in OHDEN. Placed into OHDEN's miscellaneous references.

Table of Contents:

 

Foreword Introduction I. Storm Gathering 1. 1918 a. “Humanity has but three… b. Purple Death c. “[A] dead man has no substance… d. “They died in heaps… e. “This is a detective story… f. Resurrection 2. Master of Metamorphosis a. Tiny Terrorists b. “A hen is only an egg's way… c. Something in the Air d. Makings of a Killer e. “But what gave this pestilence… f. “There is nothing permanent g. Viral Sex 3. H5N1 a. Hong Kong, 1997 b. Fowl Plague c. Close Call d. “Next to a battle lost… e. What Happens to a Pandemic… f. Year of the Rooster 4. Playing Chicken a. “Where chicken soup used to cure… b. Cooking the Crap Out of It c. Handle with Care d. Soft-Boiled Truth e. Tastes Like Chicken 5. Worse Than 1918? a. Higher Human Learning b. Mano-a-Mano c. No Shot d. Bitter Pill e. Profit Motive f. Population Bust g. “Get rid of the ‘if.’… 6. When, Not If a. “It is coming.” b. Two Minutes to Midnight c. Flu Year’s Eve d. Catching the Flu e. Boots on the Ground

II. When Animal Viruses Attack 1. The Third Age a. Emerging Infectious Disease b. Their Bugs Are Worse… c. “Most and probably all… d. “Wherever the European has trod… e. The Plague Years 2. Man Made a. AIDS: A Clear-Cut Disaster b. Aggressive Symbiosis c. Wild Tastes d. Shipping Fever e. America’s Soft Underbelly f. Pet Peeves g. Pigs Barking Blood 3. Livestock Revolution a. Breeding Grounds b. Back to the Dark Ages c. Stomaching Emerging Disease d. Offal Truth e. Big Mac Attack f. Animal Bugs Forced to Joi n g. Last Great Plague 4. Tracing the Flight Path a. Pandora’s Pond b. Hog Ties c. Viral Swap Meets d. Gambling with Our Lives? e. Stopping Traffic 5. One Flu Over the Chicken’s Nest a. Acute Life Strategy b. “In our efforts to streamline… c. Chicken Surprise d. Out of the Trenches e. A Chicken in Every Pot f. “You have to say… 6. Coming Home to Roost a. Overcrowded b. Stressful c. Filthy d. Lack of Sunlight e. Bred to Be Sick f. Monoculture g. Acquired Immunodeficiency 7. Guarding the Henhouse a. Chicken Run b. Wishful Thinking c. Made in the USA

III. Pandemic Preparedness 1. Cooping Up Bird Flu a. Taming of the Flu b. Thai Curry Favor with Poultry… c. “We have as much chance… 2. Race Against Time a. “He who desires, but acts not… b. Chicken Little Gets the Flu c. Our Best Shot 3. Tamiflu a. “Access to medicines… b. Patent Nonsense c. End of the Line d. “The success or failure… e. Don't Need a Hurricane to Know… IV. Surviving the Pandemic 1. Don’t Wing It a. The A List b. Stretching the Stockpile c. Get It Now While Supplies Last d. Crash Course 2. Our Health in Our Hands a. Coming Soon to a Theater Near You b. Coughs and Sneezes… c. Washing Your Hands of the Flu d. There’s the Rub e. Masking Our Ignorance 3. Be Prepared a. Home Health Aid b. Collateral Damage c. Corpse Management d. Bird Flu Vultures Lining Up e. “We have learned very little… f. “In the absence of a pandemic… V. Preventing Future Pandemics 1. Tinderbox a. Trojan Duck b. One Stray Spark c. Biosafety Level Zero d. Snowflakes to an Avalanche e. Worst of Both Worlds 2. Reining in the Pale Horse a. “Extreme remedies… b. Shutting Down the Flu Factories c. “The single biggest threat… d. In a Flap e. The Price We Pay Topics References 1-3,168

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• US HHS Interim Guidance on Planning for the Use of Surgical Masks and Respirators

in Health Care Settings during an Influenza Pandemic (October 2006)

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-certified respirators (N-95 or higher) are recommended for use during activities that have a high likelihood of generating infectious respiratory aerosols,[c] including the following high-risk situations:

• Aerosol-generating procedures (e.g., endotracheal intubation, nebulizer treatment, and bronchoscopy) performed on patients with confirmed or suspected pandemic influenza
• Resuscitation of a patient with confirmed or suspected pandemic influenza (i.e., emergency intubation or cardiac pulmonary resuscitation)
• Providing direct care for patients with confirmed or suspected pandemic influenza-associated pneumonia (as determined on the basis of clinical diagnosis or chest x-ray), who might produce larger-than-normal amounts of respirable infectious particles when they cough

...

If supplies of N-95 (or higher) respirators are not available, surgical masks can provide benefits against large droplet exposure, and should be worn for all health care activities for patients with confirmed or suspected pandemic-influenza.

Contributed by Gabor Lantos. Posted to PandemicFlu.gov site on Federal page.

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• Interim Guidance for Protection of Persons Involved in U.S. Avian Influenza Outbreak Disease Control and Eradication Activities

• Update, Jan 14, 2006

  Contributed by Warner Hudson, MD. Posted to Federal page, miscellaneous agencies' recommendations.

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• WHO Guidelines regarding H5N1 or outbreaks of avian or pandemic flu

• Collecting, preserving and shipping specimens for the diagnosis of avian influenza A(H5N1) virus infection.
  Guide for field operations
  October 2006

• WHO guidelines for investigation of human cases of avian influenza A(H5N1)
  October 2006


• WHO criteria for accepting positive results of H5N1 infection in humans from national reference laboratories
  November 2006

Posted to International page, WHO section.

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• New York City has its own comprehensive (266 pages) planning document for Pandemic Influenza

Posted to Community section, sorted by state.

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News Items

As creator, author, editor, I have given up keeping routine news items here. Instead, I have posted any I find that seem truly novel (not just another case or country) to Occ-Env-Med-L, where the archives can be searched (by keyword, date, author, etc) here.

Daily updates are also available at CIDRAP

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Conferences

We will be listing national and regional (and virtual!) conferences regarding Pandemic or Avian influenza as regards Occupational Health issues, regarding workforce and workplace concerns.