Panelists say many responses needed to combat avian flu

A multi-faceted approach is needed to confront a possible avian influenza pandemic, said participants in a Jan. 24 symposium about the intersection of human health and animal disease.

Keynote speaker Laurie Garrett spent much of her talk discussing the threat of avian flu, which experts say has killed more than half of the people diagnosed with it in countries like China, Vietnam, Thailand and Turkey.

"It would dwarf all these weapons of mass destruction we've been so obsessed with," said Garrett, author of "The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World out of Balance" and a senior fellow for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations.

Matt Boulton, professor of epidemiology and associate dean for practice in the School of Public Health (SPH), emceed the program, "Human Health and Animal Disease: An Epidemiologic Collision?," that gave a starring role to the animal disease dominating headlines.

Several speakers drew comparisons between a potential flu pandemic and the SARS outbreak, discussing possible lessons learned from public reaction and what might work to slow a disease's spread, for example.

About 600 people attended the all-day conference at the Michigan League, and participants from more than 30 states registered to watch a live Webcast. An afternoon panel focused on avian influenza and what the health community can do to prepare.

Arnold Monto, professor of epidemiology and a flu researcher, said that antiviral drugs can help contain the spread of flu, but in the face of a pandemic flu involving a strain of the virus unlike anything the world has been exposed to before, different responses are needed.

Sandro Cinti, clinical assistant professor at the U-M Health System, said he expects the University to begin stockpiling Tamiflu, one such antiviral, as preparation for a possible avian flu outbreak.

Monto emphasized plans that put distance between people—closing schools, getting sick people to stay home from work—to reduce opportunities for people to become exposed to the virus.

"It's a strategy of containment," said Dean Sienko, acting chief medical executive with the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH). The state can't stop sick migratory birds from flying through, nor put a halt to international travel, but it can monitor for any early cases of avian flu and try to slow the disease's spread.

Sena Blumensaadt, officer in charge, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chicago Quarantine Station, said at the height of SARS concerns CDC evaluated air passengers for SARS symptoms and sent some people for evaluation as a result.

One hiccup in such plans is that with avian flu people who have been exposed to the virus might be contagious before they develop symptoms, Cinti said.

Sienko said educating the public is essential. People need to understand the value of washing their hands and using hand sanitizer, for example, and they need to know when to stay home from work and seek medical attention.

The symposium was presented by the School of Public Health Office of Public Health Practice, with support from the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness, the Michigan Public Health Training Center, MDCH, Life Sciences and Society, and SPH.