CDC seeks community input about flu pandemic
Posted: Saturday, November 18, 2006
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Nebraskans can have a say on national plans for a possible bird flu pandemic.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are looking for 100 Nebraskans who would like to offer comment on the extreme measures under consideration. Those measures include closing schools, canceling public events and asking people to stay in their homes.
A forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Lincoln. People may sign up by contacting the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials at (800) 219-6670.
Health officials worldwide are concerned that avian flu will set off a pandemic.
So far, most human cases have been linked to close contact with sick birds or their droppings carrying the H5N1 strain. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a lethal form that spreads easily from person to person.
Nebraska is one of just four states that has been asked to hold a community forum. Events have already been held in Atlanta and Seattle. A forum in Syracuse, N.Y., is also planned for Saturday.
Nebraska is "a place with a proven record" in pandemic preparedness, said Roger Bernier, a senior adviser in the National Centers for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.
That, combined with the constructive feedback the CDC heard here about vaccination protocol, was why the state was chosen as the Midwest location for a forum, he said.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are looking for 100 Nebraskans who would like to offer comment on the extreme measures under consideration. Those measures include closing schools, canceling public events and asking people to stay in their homes.
A forum will be held from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday in Lincoln. People may sign up by contacting the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials at (800) 219-6670.
Health officials worldwide are concerned that avian flu will set off a pandemic.
So far, most human cases have been linked to close contact with sick birds or their droppings carrying the H5N1 strain. Experts fear the virus could mutate into a lethal form that spreads easily from person to person.
Nebraska is one of just four states that has been asked to hold a community forum. Events have already been held in Atlanta and Seattle. A forum in Syracuse, N.Y., is also planned for Saturday.
Nebraska is "a place with a proven record" in pandemic preparedness, said Roger Bernier, a senior adviser in the National Centers for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.
That, combined with the constructive feedback the CDC heard here about vaccination protocol, was why the state was chosen as the Midwest location for a forum, he said.
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