A pandemic flu outbreak is like an earthquake ““ it’s not a matter of if, but rather when it will happen, said Deborah Glik, a doctor of sciences from the UCLA School of Public Health.
Pandemics happen every 30 to 40 years and the most recent occurred in 1968, she said.
“We’re (overdue) for another pandemic,” Glik said.
Two clinicians from Ashe Center clarified that UCLA is prepared for its arrival.
Dr. Julie Casper-Arends worked with a pandemic flu task force created in 2006 to prepare UCLA for every level of a World Health Organization pandemic.
These preparations included the creation of the signs posted around campus that inform people in the UCLA community about pandemic influenza, said both Casper-Arends and Dr. Nancy Holt, the current interim medical director at Ashe Center.
The task force included Casper-Arends, members of the university police, representatives of the chancellor’s office and Dr. Jo Ann Dawson, the director of Ashe Center.
Holt said that UCLA has always had plans for emergencies that would create a high demand for medical care. Holt specified that the plan at UCLA didn’t include pandemics until after the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare that began in 2003.
Glik said that with the plethora of media outlets available today, the motto for organizations such as the Center for Disease Control is, “Be first, be right, be credible.”
This is the policy for public health risk communication practices, and the Center for Disease Control gave correct information right away in this case, she said.
She added that the media has changed with the advent of social media Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter. She likened the result to “the game of telephone.”
The messages come out accurate from the center, but they get changed, Glik said.
Holt and Casper-Arends said that Ashe Center is closely following guidelines issued by the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control.
In order to get tested for swine flu, the Los Angeles Department of Public Health has specific guidelines ““ a patient must have a fever greater than 100 degrees Fahrenheit, have a cough or sore throat, and be admitted with an influenza-like illness.
Although there have been no cases of swine flu at UCLA, Ashe Center has performed some testing, Holt said.
However, it appears that this recent outbreak of the H1N1 Swine Flu will not be the next major pandemic.
But according to Glik, this virus will come back and potentially with more virulence, which is the virus’ ability to overcome bodily defenses.
“We are more prepared than we’ve ever been for such an event,” she said.
Glik said one danger about the H1N1 virus is that young people are at the highest risk, so health officials are worried about teens and people in their early 20s. The infection rate isn’t different among age groups, but the bodily response is, she said.
A cytokine storm ““ an overreaction from the immune system ““ could potentially occur in young people who contract the illness, she said. This could possibly trigger fluid to leak into the lungs, suffocating the sick person, Glik said.
This caused the high virulence of the 1918 pandemic that killed approximately 40 million people worldwide, she said.
However, Casper-Arends and Holt clarified that the type A H1N1 flu is missing certain components that made the 1918 flu so devastating.
Holt, Casper-Arends and Glik all emphasized the use of social distancing in the case of a pandemic. Social distancing is what the name suggests: keeping people apart as much as possible to prevent the spread of an influenza virus. Glik said that this was used quite effectively in Mexico to prevent swine flu from spreading more than it did.
Social distancing would be used if someone at UCLA were to contract the H1N1 swine flu, Holt said. However, staying home when sick with any influenza is always important, Glik said.
“Swine flu is looking like a mild flu, so yes, we are treating them the same,” Holt said.
She added that if someone living in the residence halls were to become ill with this particular flu, the student would not have to move out.
“We are in very close communication with … ORL,” she said, adding that Ashe Center and the Office of Residential Life speak twice daily.
This communication is necessary because the H1N1 virus spreads easily among humans, primarily through respiratory droplets.
“That’s why we’ve seen these cases,” Holt said.
With a new influenza, as in the case of a pandemic, there is no prepared vaccine. However, there are antiviral medications such as TamiFlu that shorten the duration of a flu. Such medications can also prevent complications like pneumonia, Casper-Arends said.
Glik spoke of the need for public health emergency risk communication.
“You want to raise the anxiety point to where people are paying attention,” she said.
In risk communication practice, organizations such as the center try to quell rumors and create messages people can understand, Glik said.
In terms of UCLA’s ability to handle a pandemic, Casper-Arends said, “We were prepared for the most serious of outbreaks, and fortunately we’ve been able to scale back.”
This outbreak of swine flu appears to have the same virulence as a typical seasonal flu.
However, Glik said, “It’s a good wake-up call.”