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Biosecurity BriefingCDC/HHS Hold Pandemic Flu Exercises By Michelle Cantu, March 21, 2008 In January 2007, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) began a series of exercises to determine the types of challenges that may arise in the early stages of an influenza pandemic. According to a CIDRAP News article, on March 11, 2008, the CDC held the fourth exercise in this series which positioned “the United States at epicenter of an evolving pandemic.” This exercise assessed many pandemic preparedness issues, particularly around antivirals, school closings, and traveling during the initial stages of a pandemic.1 The exercise was a 2-day event which took place in the Director’s Emergency Operations Center (DEOC) on the CDC campus in Atlanta, Georgia. In the first three exercises in the CDC series, the scenario describes an H5N1 infected traveler from Southeast Asia arriving in the U.S. (exposing many people by the time he becomes ill). This index patient is then linked to cases that arise in several U.S. states and foreign countries. Last week’s exercise marked the sixth day in the CDC’s emergency response scenario with 273 reported U.S. cases and 27 deaths. As part of the exercise, the most common questions revolved around the use of community mitigation strategies or non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and school closings, the use of antivirals, and screening of incoming travelers. In a press conference (part of the exercise) Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC director, stressed that "as of this morning we're not recommending widespread school closures or other measures to reduce spread in crowds, but those measures are likely." She also added that the decisions to close schools would be made locally.1 Dr. Richard Besser, director of CDC’s Coordination Office for Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response, claimed that “state health departments will be responsible for distributing the anitvirals to healthcare providers according to their existing plans.” On issues regarding screening patients, Dr. Stephen Redd, the influenza team leader said that “screening isn’t foolproof” and that border stations may be “a misuse of our resources.” Other observations during the exercise noted by the article include the following:
In related news, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) held a tabletop exercise on March 17, to discern ways in which to collaborate with news media, including internet information sources and blogs, during an influenza pandemic. Representatives from Federal agencies, state health departments, and health care facilities, along with representatives from internet information sources such as Avian Flu Diary, FluTrackers, FluWiki, WebMD, CIDRAP News, and national media such as ABC News, National Public Radio, and Reuters all participated in the exercise. Although, details of the exercise were off record, according to a CIDRAP News article on March 19, the scenario included a suspected H5N1 case in the U.S. which progressed to “dozens of cases in major cities on both coasts.”2 HHS has reached out to communications partners and media on other occasions. In May 2007, HHS hosted a 5-week pandemic preparedness blog series. Bloggers were then invited to a 1-day leadership conference to “engage community leaders in talking about local preparedness events and seek input on how to tailor HHS’s own resource materials.” Realizing the importance and influence of the internet and blogs, the agency aims to treat “reputable blogs and other reputable online services the same as traditional media organizations.”2 In an entry on the HHS weblog, HHS Secretary Michael Leavitt noted that “Government needs to understand the blog world better, and factor it into the way we interact with people. A growing part of the world relies on bloggers for unvarnished information; something that they are not sure they always get from us in government.”3 References
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