Influenza Preparedness Plan for Oshkosh, WIT. Zehms*

Department of Biology and Microbiology800 Algoma Boulevard

Oshkosh, WI 54901 USA

AVIAN FLUThe H5N1 strain of avian influenza has spread over half the world and as it progresses, more and more countries are scrambling to prepare pandemic plans. Avian flu is a concern for humans because it mutates at a rapid rate. The more changes it makes, the possibility of becoming capable to infect human beings grows. The virus is carried by wild birds without symptoms but kills domestic birds rapidly. People who come in close contact with poultry or property with poultry secretions/waste on a regular basis have, on rare occasions, contracted a strain of the virus that was able to infect them. Should the virus mutate into a strain that successfully can pass from human to human without an interaction with domestic birds, a pandemic could break out. Because this would be a new strain of human influenza, there is no vaccine and no one has any immunity to it.1The following sections describe what can be done to prevent infection, to treat cases, and to stay informed both on the individual/family level and the community level.