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Contact: Carolyn Maschke, Public Information, 229-430-1969

Worth County conducts district’s first pandemic flu preparedness drill
 

            Key officials from Worth County government, schools and health care came together February 27 in a simulation designed to test the community’s response in the event of an influenza pandemic outbreak.
            “We held our first planning meeting on September 28, 2006 to come up with a county plan, and we have had several meetings since then,” said Worth County Health Department Director Gina Connell. “The table-top exercise went well. It showed we have come a long way, but we still have some improvements to make.”
            Sylvester was the first community in Southwest Georgia to conduct such a drill, said Dr. Jacqueline Grant, the director of Southwest Health. “We have been meeting with communities throughout our 14 counties to educate residents about the importance of preparing for a widespread flu epidemic like the pandemic of 1918, which caused more than 500,000 deaths in the United States and more than 40 million deaths world-wide,” she said. “Other communities will be following in Worth County’s footsteps in the coming weeks as they, too, hold pandemic flu exercises like this one.”
            Unlike seasonal flu epidemics, pandemic influenza refers to a worldwide epidemic rising from a dramatically different strain of influenza virus that spreads rapidly and can cause high levels of illness and death, she explained. “Because it will be new, more people will be susceptible and adequate supplies of vaccine are unlikely to be available for months.”
            Pandemic planning and table-top exercises like the one in Sylvester have a four-fold purpose, added Julie Miller, director of All Hazards Preparedness for the Southwest Health District. “The goal is to limit the number of illnesses and deaths; preserve continuity of essential government functions; minimize social disruption and minimize economic losses.”
            The Worth County Public Health Department, in concert with the Worth County Emergency Management Agency, took the lead in the drill, which included representatives from local law enforcement, fire department and emergency medical services; Worth County Schools; Department of Family and Children Services; Georgia Emergency Management Agency and Southwest District Public Health. In addition, Phoebe Worth Hospital and Worth County Coroner Johnny Johnson also participated.
            “I worked very closely with Worth EMA Director Lynn Ford and Deputy Director Jason Brooks. Everybody was there who needed to be there,” Connell said. “We were pleased with the level of support.”
            Miller echoed Connell’s praise. “It was good to see that the threat of pandemic influenza is being taken seriously in Worth County, because it is a question of when the disease hits, not if it hits.”
            Experts with the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that in the U.S., an influenza pandemic could infect as many as 200 million people and cause between 200,000 and 1,900,000 deaths, Miller said.
“The worldwide public health and scientific community is increasingly concerned about the potential for a pandemic to arise from the widespread and growing avian influenza A (H5N1) outbreak across several continents,” she said. “Although it is widely believed that future influenza pandemics are inevitable, it is impossible to predict their exact timing. Because the disease is expected to be so virulent, communities will not be able to count on mutual aid. That’s why planning now is so important.”
More information about preparing for pandemic influenza is available on the Southwest Health District’s Web site, www.southwestgoergiapublichealth.org or at www.PandemicFlu.gov.