IRISH GUIDELINES:EXPERTS FROM the World Health Organisation (WHO) meeting in Geneva yesterday raised its pandemic alert level to phase 4 over the deadly swine flu virus, indicating that the infection can spread between humans to cause community-level outbreaks.
Phase three, which has been in place since the threat of bird flu emerged, means that most infection is happening in animals, with very few cases of human infection.
Last November, the national pandemic influenza expert group chaired by Prof William Hall, director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, published guidelines to deal with an influenza pandemic.
Although the guidelines were prepared with a possible avian flu outbreak in mind, they apply to an influenza pandemic of any origin. They specify Irish alert levels to complement the six WHO alert phases. On reaching threat level four, the expert group, which includes representatives from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, Health Service Executive and Department of Health, may advise that schools and universities close and that travellers defer non-essential travel to areas affected by the flu outbreak.
The first suspected cases are likely to be hospitalised to allow thorough identification of the virus.
However, once alert level six is reached, signalling a full-blown influenza pandemic, the expert group says the aim should be to treat most people at home.
The H1N1 flu virus spreading from Mexico is known to respond to the main anti-viral drugs.
The State has stockpiled enough Tamiflu – a drug taken orally – to treat 25 per cent of the population and enough Relenza – an inhaled medication – to treat 20 per cent of the population over the age of seven.
The point at which the drugs would be used as a preventive measure will be a key decision for the national group if the pandemic threat level rises higher than level four.
A key aspect of dealing with a global influenza threat is how well prepared the State is for an outbreak. A huge amount of work has taken place in recent years which will minimise the number of ad hoc decisions to be made.
Such is the extent that various scenarios have been modelled by a broad range of State agencies that we can be confident that most eventualities have been thought through, with specific responses ready for implementation.