Intelligence

GTA gets ready for flu pandemic

TheStar.com - GTA gets ready for flu pandemic

If one million people ill, outbreak could cripple the region
Health officials will meet next month to discuss their plans

RITA DALY
STAFF REPORTER

Every public health unit, hospital, town and city in the GTA is getting ready for a flu pandemic, officials say.

"There's a lot of things going on and have been going on for a long time," said Dr. Michael Gardam, head of infection control for the University Health Network and a key player in pandemic preparedness plans.

"I can say honestly, pandemic flu has taken up probably half my time in the last year."

Among the issues being considered are: the ability to staff hospitals, the need for triage centres to access ill people, alternative care facilities to deal with large numbers of sick people, the development of a volunteer management plan, morgue capacity and absenteeism.

"People have to realize everything we do in life will be affected by this," Gardam said yesterday.

Hospitals, nursing homes, school boards, ambulance services, business and government are working together to limit the impact of any pandemic in the GTA.Gardam said there's only so much that can be done to limit its destruction, which is why preparation is so important. And plans are being readied across the region.

In Toronto, public health officials have been discussing how to battle a pandemic since late 2002, with a pause in 2003 while the city wrestled with the SARS outbreak.

"Our job as public health officials is to make the assumption that it's going to hit," said Councillor Joe Mihevc, a member of council's board of health. "We want to be prepared."

A steering committee has been created with representatives from public health, hospitals and police and fire conducting monthly meetings. And business leaders have been alerted to the risk that a new flu virus could cause skyrocketing absenteeism, changes in demand for goods, decreased travel within the city and have other effects.

Next month, officials will hold a town hall meeting that will discuss ways of battling a possible flu outbreak.

Fears of a global outbreak have risen since the avian virus spread recently from Asia into Siberia in eastern Russia and Kazakhstan.

Health Canada, in its pandemic report released last year, estimates up to one-third of the population could fall ill and more than 50,000 people could die as a result of a pandemic.

About 1 million people in the Greater Toronto Area could fall ill, with at least 420,000 requiring medical treatment. Another 7,000 to 8,000 would need in-hospital care.

By comparison, 375 people in the GTA were sick with SARS.

In Peel Region, health officials are developing a plan that would co-ordinate their efforts with those of police and government, and also create a mechanism for informing the public about possible health risks.

Officials are also looking at measures to prevent an outbreak at Pearson airport. Airports can be points of entry for diseases.

"The region takes this matter very seriously, given that (Pearson) airport is within its jurisdiction," said Dr. Hanif Kassam, Peel's medical officer of health. "If there were to be a pandemic flu ... Peel would be at the hub of the pandemic."

And York Region has hired a full-time nursing manager to help combat any possible flu epidemic, said Dr. Helena Jaczek, medical officer of health for the region.

Gardam, who sits on the provincial and federal pandemic committees, said that a pandemic won't result in hospital closings or the screening of health-care workers.

But schools and businesses would be forced to shut down, which is why the Toronto public health authority is leading co-ordinating efforts and meeting regularly with various sectors.

with files from Alejandro Bustos and Paul Moloney

August 27, 2005 at 12:38 PM in Flu pandemic watch | Permalink | Top of page | Blog Home