Mock Pandemic
Students from the Georgetown University graduate and law schools came together on Oct. 25 to participate in a mock crisis aimed at addressing the threat of an international outbreak of influenza. In an exercise sponsored by the O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law, students took roles as officials in Thailand, the World Health Organization and the United States as they acted out the scenario.
Jeff Collmann, director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and associate professor at the School of Nursing and Health Studies, helped design the eight-hour exercise, which was held in St. Mary’s Hall.
In the scenario, it was January 2009 and a deadly flu had broken out in rural Thailand that soon spread across the entire country. Some Georgetown students who had been in Thailand caught the flu and brought it to campus, where it killed a number of students before spreading to D.C. and beyond.
Throughout the exercise, participants were confronted with various challenges. For instance, students playing Thai officials had to decide between either reporting the outbreak to the WHO or keeping quiet in an effort to avoid scaring away tourists.
“Judging by the students’ full engagement in the exercise … I cannot but think that it created a true sense of the reality of the simulated event,” Collmann said. “They will certainly remember that sense of reality when they participate in similar exercises or confront the real thing.”
One of the main objects of the exercise was to bring students of different disciplines together, according to Michael Stoto, a professor in the NHS and the main facilitator of the exercise.
“It was … interesting to see how the dynamics between the lawyers and the more science-oriented people work[ed] out,” said Chandra Lesniak (GRD ’09), one of Collmann’s students who took on the role of the Minister of Health for Thailand in the exercise.
Benn McGrady (LAW ’09) said he found the exercise engaging. “It was … designed to ensure that you’re working quickly on your feet, so in that sense it was quite demanding,” he said.
The exercise reflected current concerns about global health safety, especially in light of the avian influenza threat and the SARS outbreak of several years ago.
“Most experts agree that we are overdue for a pandemic influenza event,” Collmann said.
“Something like this happening is a definite threat,” Stoto said. He emphasized the importance of determining our level of preparedness for such an outbreak prior to the event of an actual outbreak.
“The big point … is that we need a public health system that’s flexible, that can respond to whatever comes, because we don’t know what’s going to come,” Stoto said.
Nov 07 2008 at 11:15 a.m.
Good article. We need to keep pandemic preparedness at the forefront of every business manager's mind. It won't go away so better start preparing.
For free references, resources and to join their free pandemic preparedness eCourse certification program go to Bird Flu Manual Online or, if you need more comprehensive tutorials, tools and templates, consider Bird Flu D-I-Y eManual for your pandemic preparedness.
Nov 07 2008 at 11:29 a.m.
Great article as talking, participation show how to do preperation. H5N1 preppers where suprised to find it saved, not cost, them mony to buy in bulk when prepping. Sad but true that "Those who are prepared suffer far less than those who are not"
Sadly H5N1 or bird flu continues to spread around the world slwoly like a bad weed. We still have no defense against it. As future leaders there is much people can do to lessen the impact on them and their friends.
Tamiflu has helped reduce the death rate to 62%. Mostly the 15 to 25 that die (source: http://www.wpro.who.int/NR/rdonlyres/FD4AC2FD-B7C8-4A13-A32C-6CF328A0C036/0/S4_1113.jpg)
Wednesday Oct 29 the US dept of Health (HHS) did a webcast on preparation and the current state of redyness. Source: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/news/panflu_webinar.html>
If you believe you can do something about global warming, do know you can do something to protect yourself and others. Japan even has a pandemic card game. It is not just a true/false but what would you do if. Your yes or no vote gets points based on how many other yes votes where cast.
Comment on what you think.
Kobie
H5N1 wiki and news posts at:
http://www.newfluwiki2.com/
Nov 07 2008 at 4:31 p.m.
What is Georgetown University's Pandemic Response Plan? Has it been ready, "at any time" the past 3 years?
Is it as good as Middlebury College VT's?
Do students know where human outbreaks are being Contained by movement restrictions and Tamiflu this week?
See also: StudentsPrepAmerica.org and
<p>GetPandemicReady.org (hosted by one county in Idaho's Emergency Management as part of their Pandemic-specific Preparedness outreach)for how to prepare for the "up to 90 days per wave" the Dept of Homeland Security may "direct the public" to stay in their homes, since there are no (public) plans able to keep panflu out of our nation, and, no effective vaccine, and, not enough antivirals purchased by states (despite Tamiflu, in time, being the only thing preventing death in H5N1 cases) to have any other Mitigation strategies available to, "reduce suffering and deaths" except Avoiding Infection from something contagious before symptoms.
Have the students read the DHS's Pandemic, "Best Practices and Model Protocols" document (April, 2007) ?
Were they shown the WHO age/outcome chart for H5N1, made back when nations weren't trying harder to hide cases?
How does the campus Pandemic plan mesh with the since-July-2006 US State Dept. policy stated on their "H5N1 factsheet" ?
Were non-scientific AR/CFR assumptions used in this, (as in most other) exercise?
Saying H5N1's CFR is, "too hard" is no excuse, and certainly won't save lives, nor society, from Consequences.
Have the students read the Dec. 2005 Gartner Fellows interview with Dr.Nabarro of the UN?
H5N1 does not have to drop in virulence to go pandemic.
It is not true there is nothing the public can do but wash their hands, get a seasonal flu shot, and wait to be told (after pandemic start) that resources are too scarce to mitigate suffering and death from all causes. (Because states and locals refused to buy any, nor ask the public to.)
It does not "prevent panic" (nor did it 'protect the economy')(did students know; the FBIIC had a pandemic exercise, 12 months ago?)to keep the public uneducated and not preparing (we would have been in better shape everywhere for this long-forseen economic bubble bursting, if states, communities, and households had been preparing as if we were in an H5N1 panflu year alert ("no vaccine" "no outside aid available") since pandemicflu.gov went up Oct. 2005 - or- since HHS came and told every state that same, "you're on your own" message in 2006; expect the feds to save you and, "be tragically wrong".)
Look at GetPandemicReady.org
(and buy American, when possible; and, lobby to get our critical needs back manufactured here: it is a matter of national security.)
We don't need, "One World, One Pandemic" leveling the global playing field.
(With China obtaining charge of the WHO after the Karo cluster prior to their Olympics, the 2005-definiton Pandemic Alert Phases no longer existed by mid-2006; now, the next announcement stage is the definition of "Pandemic".)
It is not "ethical" to say, since "not everyone can afford to prepare" equally, we will tell no one to prepare (except: they told the VIPs).
"Public Health" has failed the public trust. They are Planning to Fail, since real worst-case is a catastrophic pandemic; we are not in a 1968 alert nor in a Spanish Flu Alert.
Saying "greater-than 2%" "covers" H5N1's CFR is incredible, and, unethical.
We need a Public that’s flexible; in communities that have their own resources stockpiled (not to be confiscated by "mutual aid", since Pandemic does Not fit in any way into, "all-hazard approaches") that can respond to whatever comes, because we don’t know what’s going to come, but, we are currently under-warned and under-prepared.
Those milions of taxpayer dollars, and years of warning virologists, and, Containment via "Rapid Response" and Tamiflu have given us, only bought "Mock Preparedness".
Go prepare at home and in your community to, "confront the real thing". News and more resources are also at PFI Pandemic Flu Forum.