No preventing pandemic, but county’s preparing

The Spokane County Regional Health District is bracing for an emergency it won’t be able to handle on its own.

It will take everyone in the community working together to cope with the coming influenza pandemic, said Dr. Kim Thorburn, the county’s health officer. On Wednesday, she convened the first of what she hopes will be quarterly meetings of civic leaders to begin planning for the killer.

The leaders represented health care, education, law enforcement, business, utilities and transportation. The first order of business was to answer several questions.

Q.What is pandemic influenza?

A.A global outbreak of a disease like that we are used to seeing every flu season. It is passed from human to human. Only it will be more serious because humans will have no natural immunity. Currently there is no pandemic flu.

Q.How do we know it’s coming?

A.Because it comes every 30 to 40 years, and the last one was in 1968-69. And because there is currently a pandemic of avian flu that has infected humans who have come in close contact with domestic fowl such as ducks and chickens. The world is on heightened alert because it is feared the virus will mutate and eventually be transmitted from human to human.

Q.How bad can it be?

A.So far, 50 percent of humans who have become infected with avian flu H5N1 have died. The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918, which killed 50 million people, killed only 2 percent of people who became infected. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate between 20 percent and 30 percent of us will be infected.

Q.Can the pandemic be prevented?

A.In a word, no. But we can take steps now to maintain essential health and community services when it comes. In fact, nations around the world are preparing for it, and now Spokane County is, too. There will be no vaccine when the pandemic first arrives and limited amount thereafter. One of the questions community leaders must answer is “who should be vaccinated?”

An infected person could be contagious for 24 hours before symptoms appear and a week afterward. So eventually, the community will have to protect itself by “social distancing.” Leaders will have to be prepared to close schools, sports arenas, theaters, restaurants, taverns and other public places.

Q.Who can we count on to help?

A.Because it is a pandemic, other cities will be going through the same thing. We won’t be able to turn to Seattle, Portland or San Francisco. These cities will be unlikely to spare personnel, goods and services. The federal government has already made funds available to prepare for the emergency. The health district has received about $850,000 for coordination and communication in the 10 counties it serves.

“We do have some community engagement,” Thorburn said Wednesday. “There needs to be more.”