TCC EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS:
H1N1 Flu Overview |
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a Pandemic Is Declared
In June 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the influenza (H1N1) had reached a global pandemic level.
The WHO raised the pandemic alert level to Phase 6 – indicating the H1N1 virus had reached community level outbreak levels in more than one county and in more than one WHO regions. In addition to the global outbreak levels in order to reach Phase 6, the virus has characteristics of human-to-human spread and is present in two countries within a single WHO region.
It is important to note that raising the alert level is an indication of the spread of the virus, not necessarily an indication of the severity of any illness or deaths attributed to the virus.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was tracking individual cases of H1N1 in the spring as a matter of epidemiological surveillance. Each State was providing reporting information on cases. The Virginia Department of Health monitored the individual cases in Virginia. Once the individual cases reached a threshold indicating the virus was widespread throughout the United States, and the WHO had raised the alert level, tracking of individual cases became unnecessary. The Pandemic was here!
The state health departments and the CDC continue to report and monitor H1N1 cases as they would do with any other contagious illness. As of August 20, 2009 the CDC was reporting nearly 8,000 hospitalized cases, 522 deaths in 53 U.S. States and Territories. http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/update.htm.
What does this mean for TCC? As we begin the Fall semester we must be vigilant!
- Be careful to reduce the risk of spreading the flu with the TCC population.
- Be sensitive to others and their families by not socializing when you are sick.
- Be careful in our daily lives to reduce the risk of spreading the flu among family and friends.
- Be prepared to take personal protective actions to keep ourselves healthy.
- Consider vaccination when it is available.
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