Short description:

This book outlines the containment and response capabilities needed to effectively plan and prepare for a wide-spread outbreak. Addressing clinical factors and public health challenges, the authors examine critical issues such as the types of influenza (including H1N1) and related health implications, outbreak prevention and mass prophylactic measures, medical supply and fatality management, response actions for various emergency service disciplines, and the potential economic effects of a pandemic outbreak. Mirroring the goals of the U.S. National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, the text underscores the importance of expanding the health care system?s capacity to provide adequate triage and medical care.

Long description:

The swine flu emergency needn?t become a crisis. This critically acclaimed work provides public health officials, doctors, responders, and emergency planners with accurate current information that will help them understand the nature of an outbreak, assess risk, answer public concerns, and develop informed strategies.

Devoid of sensationalism and agenda, this CRC Press resource provides all the information needed to understand pandemic influenzas including, avian, swine, and human variations and outlines the steps needed to develop and implement prevention, stabilization, and recovery efforts as needed at the local level.

"... an amazing resource ... Dr. Ryan has assembled some of the best experts in the field to guide you in understanding the threat of pandemic influenza and how it can affect you and the people you are responsible for. ..."  --From the foreword by Lynn A. Slepski, Captain, United States Public Health Service

Make certain your response to Swine Flu is proactive and informed

Edited by Jeffrey Ryan, Institute for Emergency Preparedness, this volume ?

• Arms planners and responders with guidance from 13 leading experts








• Takes lessons from past pandemics








• Covers biological and clinical aspects of influenza








• Discusses pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical measures








• Details response actions related to communication, travel, and quarantine

While the swine flu outbreak has impacted Mexico; influenza has no respect for boundaries and is already being felt up north. Despite warnings from the World Health Organization, our preparedness continues to lag. Part of the problem is that the real action must occur at the local level. Triage, care, and containment, along with maintenance of infrastructure, are functions that must be carried out by local planners and responders.

The first section reviews the history of pandemics. The middle chapters examine the biology of a virus and clinical aspects of influenza. The final chapters examine international and federal programs and discuss response at the local level, including service continuation planning and fatality management.

No one is immune to the potential devastation of a mass pandemic influenza outbreak, yet despite recent small outbreaks and dire warnings from the WHO that such an event is imminent and overdue, our readiness continues to lag. ? This collection aims to introduce readers to the most critical global and domestic issues regarding a potential pandemic. Featuring the contributions of thirteen experts, the volume helps planners and responders with an understanding of outbreak containment and response planning, providing a detailed analysis of our present capabilities and potential weaknesses. The first section reviews the history of pandemics and discusses the deadly 1918 Spanish flu. The middle chapters examine the biology of the virus and the clinical aspects of influenza, with special attention given to avian flu. The final chapters examine international and federal programs and discuss response at the local level, including service continuation planning and fatality management. Public health and emergency preparedness professionals, as well as policymakers at all levels, will find a wealth of relevant information that will let them figure out their priorities and allocate the proper resources to mitigate the damages of a pandemic influenza.
?Abstracts of Public Administration, Development, and Environment (APADE), Fall 2010

This helpful, concise volume covers all the basics of pandemic preparedness. Written by emergency management professionals (from agencies like the US Public Health Service, FEMA, and state health departments) who know the nuts and bolts of disaster response, it will be useful to a wide range of planners, whether they work in public services or are formulating business operations plans . . . The graphs, photos, glossaries, resource lists, and tables?on everything from the facilities involved in poultry population to vaccine priority groups to guidelines for certifying deaths and strong bodies?make this a hand manual for both emergency management professionals and laypeople.
?K.H. Jacobsen, George Mason University, in Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, Vol. 46, No. 10, June 2009

... targeted primarily at public health planners involved in preparing community responses to the next influenza pandemic. However, this book also serves as a good reference to many aspects of pandemic influenza, providing a historical perspective as well as up-to-date information in the field of molecular virology. ... a very interesting book that covers some of the less documented and less understood aspects of pandemic planning. For those planners who delve into the finer details, it will improve their ability to inform communities and businesses to ?fight back? when the big one hits.
?Alex J. Elliot, Health Protection Agency West Midlands?Regional Surveillance Unit, Birmingham, UK, in CID, August 2009, Vol. 49

Table of Contents:

  Defining the Threat of Influenza. Natural History of Influenza. Defining the Response.