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A new report by the Presidents Council of Advisers on Science and Technology anticipates a fall resurgence of Influenza A H1N1 pandemic that could potentially overwhelm medical services in the United States with 30 - 60 million people seeking medical care.
The report concludes that the 2009-H1N1 flu is unlikely to resemble the deadly flu pandemic of 1918-19. But in contrast to the benign version of swine flu that emerged in 1976, the report says the current strain “poses a serious health threat” to the nation. The issue is not that the virus is more deadly than other flu strains, but rather that it is likely to infect more people than usual because it is a new strain against which few people have immunity. This could mean that doctors’ offices and hospitals may get filled to capacity.
Report Bullet points suggest that H1N1 could:
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Produce infection of 30–50% of the U.S. population this fall and winter, with symptoms in approximately 20–40% of the population (60–120 million people), more than half of whom would seek medical attention.
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Lead to as many as 1.8 million U.S. hospital admissions during the epidemic, with up to 300,000 patients requiring care in intensive care units (ICUs). Importantly, these very ill patients could occupy 50–100 percent of all ICU beds in affected regions of the country at the peak of the epidemic and could place enormous stress on ICU units, which normally operate close to capacity.
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Cause between 30,000 and 90,000 deaths in the United States, concentrated among children and young adults. In contrast, the 30,000–40,000 annual deaths typically associated with seasonal flu in the United States occur mainly among people over 65. As a result, 2009-H1N1 would lead to many more years of life lost.
- Pose especially high risks for individuals with certain pre-existing conditions, including pregnant women and patients with neurological disorders or respiratory impairment, diabetes, or severe obesity and possibly for certain populations, such as Native Americans.
To see the complete report, click here.
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8 JULY 2009 | GENEVA — WHO has been informed by health authorities in Denmark, Japan and the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong, China of the appearance of H1N1 viruses which are resistant to the antiviral drug oseltamivir (known as Tamiflu) based on laboratory testing.
These viruses were found in three [...]
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Ladies and gentlemen, Based on assessment of all available information, and following several expert consultations, I have decided to raise the current level of influenza pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5. Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world. On the [...]
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USFA Press Office: (301) 447-1853
Washington DC- In an effort to send a common message the USFA is working
with Department of Homeland Security Office of Health Affairs and other Federal partners (FICEMS) to issue an EMS, Medical First Responder and 9-1-1 specific guidance document to the Nation’s first responders. This is a dynamic process and we [...]
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April 29, 2009 12:53 MDT
While the World Health Organization (WHO) raised it’s global threat level to 4 yesterday, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has indicated an increased level of swine flu cases to 91 as of today. These cases span 10 states and includes the first reported U.S. death from the virus. To keep [...]
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While much of the work on this project is being done as time permits, substantial progress has been made in the past couple of months. Most of the audio has been transcribed for video integration, and replacement fire engines have been designed and constructed for later scene replacement. Final steps in the first phase of [...]
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On June 18, 2007, nine firefighters from the Charleston SC Fire Department perished in a commercial warehouse showroom fire. Since that time, there have been multiple investigations into the incident, and there is much to be learned from this tragedy. Tundra Media and Advanced Safety Products, Inc., have teamed up to produce an animated forensic [...]
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today released a revised National Incident Management System (NIMS)- the national standard for incident management. NIMS establishes standardized incident management processes, protocols, and procedures that all federal, state, tribal and local responders will use to coordinate and conduct response actions.
NIMS [...]
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The Incident Management Systems Integration (IMSI) Division, formerly the NIMS Integration Center, in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is pleased to announce the release of the FY 2008 NIMS Implementation Objectives for Healthcare Organizations. On September 16, 2006, IMSI released the FY 2007 NIMS Implementation Activities for Hospitals and Healthcare [...]
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The Incident Management Systems Division Releases the Finalized ICS Core Competencies
As part of our Nation’s efforts to strengthen catastrophic response capabilities in line with the National Incident Management System (NIMS), FEMA’s Incident Management Systems Division has released the finalized Incident Command System (ICS) Core Competencies.
In February 2005, the Incident Management Systems Division (IMSD) gathered [...]