With the growing threat of a pandemic flu, the University is planning for how it would respond if the illness strikes the St. Louis region. A fast-moving, virulent global flu could sicken numerous students, faculty and staff and quickly overwhelm the University’s medical clinics.
In Missouri, a worst-case scenario predicts a pandemic flu outbreak could sicken 1.8 million and leave 40,000 dead, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Tis the season — for flu If you’ve been too busy to get a flu shot, you might consider whether you can spare a week or more away from work to fight the flu. “It’s still not too late to get a flu shot,” urged Steven J. Lawrence, M.D, assistant professor of medicine. “The shot is simply the most effective protection you can have against the seasonal flu. But it takes about two weeks for the shot to work fully, so don’t wait until flu cases begin to pop up before deciding to get one.” Influenza is a highly contagious disease, and people of all ages can get it. In the United States, the disease or its complications kills 36,000 and hospitalizes about 200,000 each year. Contrary to popular belief, the shot does not cause the flu. Both the Danforth Campus and the School of Medicine have offered flu shots to faculty, staff and students. Both campuses also are conducting awareness campaigns to help reduce the spread of the flu. “We’re telling our staff and students to stay healthy by getting enough sleep, eating well and exercising,” said Alan Glass, M.D., director of the University’s Habif Health and Wellness Center. “But we’re also stressing the importance of hand washing and avoiding people who are ill. These same lessons may help prevent the severity of a pandemic flu, if and when it strikes here.” Flu Facts Symptoms:
If you’re sick with nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, you do not have the flu. Best prevention:
If you get the flu:
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“We don’t want to cause alarm,” said Bruce Backus, assistant vice chancellor for environmental health and safety, who also heads the University’s pandemic planning efforts. “But we know a pandemic flu would likely cause major disruptions throughout the University. We need to plan now for these challenges.”
A pandemic flu is different from seasonal flu because it occurs when a new strain of influenza emerges that can be spread easily and for which people have no immunity.
This new strain potentially could be a form of the bird flu that also infects people, or it could be a highly contagious human flu virus.
Unlike seasonal flu, which is more likely to cause death in the elderly or those with chronic medical conditions, a pandemic flu could cause serious illness in the young and healthy.
The University’s pandemic flu preparations have been ongoing since February. The Danforth Campus and the School of Medicine each have a planning committee staffed by representatives from their own schools or departments, human resources, student services, financial services, facilities and safety.
Planning for a pandemic outbreak is just one component of the University’s overall disaster preparedness efforts. Contingency plans for the flu will be incorporated into the University’s plans for other emergencies, such as widespread power outages, earthquakes, tornadoes and mass-casualty events.
The University also is coordinating its pandemic flu plans with Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
“If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, it is that planning for emergencies is absolutely crucial to being able to respond quickly in a crisis,” Backus said. “Our plans need to be kept alive and incorporated into our everyday operations so we’re always prepared.”
If a pandemic flu strikes St. Louis, it may come in several waves, each lasting about eight weeks with periods of recovery in between. Because other cities are likely to be hit at the same time, the federal response effort likely would be spread thin. This reality underscores the University’s need to make its own plans and ensure that faculty, staff and students are informed, Backus said.
For a school like WUSTL, the challenges that would be created by a pandemic illness are immense. That’s because the University not only educates students, but also provides their meals, housing and venues for social events.
In addition, it is the largest health-care provider in the St. Louis region and maintains hundreds of research laboratories and complex computer networks. Sustaining essential day-to-day operations when numerous employees are out sick is one of the main issues with which the planning committees are grappling.
On the Danforth Campus, questions range from how to feed students if no large gatherings are allowed to how to manage a quarantine, provide medical care to sick students and decide when to cancel classes.
“Obviously, a chief concern is our students, many of whom do not live close to home,” said Alan Glass, M.D., director of the University’s Habif Health and Wellness Center and the leader of planning efforts on the Danforth Campus. “We want to protect our students from the flu as much as possible, but if it strikes locally, we want to be sure we’re prepared.”
At the medical school, a major challenge will be simultaneously providing care to patients with the flu and to those who are flu-free but need emergency care, surgery or ongoing treatment, such as chemotherapy or dialysis.
“To help reduce the spread of the flu within clinics, we are devising ways to keep patients who have the flu carefully isolated from other patients,” said Steven J. Lawrence, M.D., an infectious disease specialist who is coordinating the medical school’s pandemic planning efforts. “Just as important, we will repeatedly stress that faculty and staff should not come to work if they have the flu. This is crucial to reducing its spread.”
Although more information about the University’s plans for a pandemic flu will be provided in the months ahead, Backus said each department will be asked to name a point person to coordinate that department’s response and to identify essential personnel and services that must be provided during a pandemic.
Each department also will be asked to develop its own communications plan to keep its faculty and staff updated.
The Internet will be a key source for flu information, and the Office of Public Affairs is developing a Web site to keep faculty, staff and students informed. Information will be provided about the extent of a flu outbreak, disruptions in University operations, quarantine information, ways to prevent the spread of the flu and what to do if you’re sick.
The University also will provide important flu updates on its emergency information line at 935-9000.