The avian flu it has been a source of discussion among industrial hygienists and infectious disease experts in hospital settings and a central focus for the general public over the last few months. This initial concern is nothing compared to what could materialize should the H5N1 virus begin to easily spread from person to person.
- Every healthcare system should appoint a leader to be responsible for coordinating preparedness efforts for the avian flu. This individual should develop a committee within the health system to spearhead precautionary efforts.
- Developing an extensive preparedness plan is time-consuming but necessary. Each health care setting needs to evaluate its strengths and weaknesses individually in preparing for an avian flu pandemic and outline procedures accordingly. An industrial hygienist, either one on staff internally or as an outside consultant, is a significant resource for this type of plan development.
- Its key to maintain a sanitary environment. Every health care worker with direct patient contact should be wearing protective covering, including gloves, appropriate masks, etc., if there is even the slightest concern that someone may have avian flu. Patients that are suspected to be infected with the avian flu should be segregated, if possible, and directed to wear surgical masks to control the generation of aerosols from coughs and sneezes.
- Hospital and health care settings should have a number of special negative pressure rooms within the setting. These rooms, similar to those used for tuberculosis control, ensure a clean air situation and help to quarantine the sick patient, limiting the spread of the flu. The operability of these rooms should be confirmed, and if a particular health system does not have one readied, there should be a contingency plan in place to create one, share with another health system or find alternatives for quarantining sick patients.
- It is imperative that hospitals and health care systems make certain the appropriate precautionary equipment is available and that health care staff are fitted for key pieces so they are readied in a timely fashion. N95 masks, for example, will help protect health care workers from breathing in the particulates from an avian flu virus and will help to safeguard them, but these masks require a fit test and a health evaluation for each worker before they can be distributed. Handling these logistics now and getting those most likely to be near sick patients readied for N95s will likely go a long way to preventing the spread of any flu virus.
- WHO, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) provide excellent guidance for individual health systems. Every system should monitor these recommendations and mirror their own prevention efforts after those checklists. These should be a key source of information for dealing with an outbreak once it has begun.
- It is really important for health care settings to educate all of their staff. The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) found that health care workers need more information on the risk of influenza, the safety and benefits of vaccination and the rationale for the CDC immunization recommendations. Additional insights will be needed in the event of a widespread outbreak of a new strain and all staff should know what the plan of action is in the event of such an outbreak.
The spread of avian flu is a mounting threat, and preparing now for a pandemic situation will help to safeguard everyone if and when it does reach pandemic status.
