County prepares for bird flu

Wednesday, April 26, 2006 | 7:19 a.m.

With some experts predicting that the bird flu virus inevitably will reach the United States, Clark County Health Department officials have begun to prepare for a possible outbreak.

County Emergency Manager Jim O'Brien, in a televised interview on "Face to Face With Jon Ralston," said the migratory patterns of birds suggest that they are likely to carry the virus into the western United States.

"We have a migratory pattern every springtime and every summer of birds that are coming from Siberia to Alaska and down to North America," O'Brien said. "Chances are that they are going to be infected."

Worldwide, there have been 200 human cases of avian influenza, more commonly referred to as bird flu, resulting in 109 deaths since the virus was first detected in 2003.

While there is no known case of person-to-person transmission, health officials say that remains a concern, and that they are constantly monitoring the situation.

O'Brien and Clark County Health District chief Don Kwalick said they have taken steps to notify the public and ward off a potential pandemic if the virus becomes communicable in humans.

Because Las Vegas regularly has a large number of international tourists, local health officials must be prepared for the potential outbreak of a disease or virus at any time, they said.

Kwalick said in a worst-case scenario, major decisions - such as closing McCarran International Airport or quarantining - would be made by several agencies working together.

In the event of a smaller outbreak, decisions made by individuals and businesses could be crucial in stemming a pandemic.

Kwalick's office has a list of common-sense recommendations that include frequent hand washing, immunizations and liberal use of vacation and sick time.

"There may be some cross-immunity from the previous vaccine, we're not sure yet," Kwalick said.

As a model of how to respond to such a major health risk, he pointed to the SARS scare in Canada, where he said 99 percent of the people in Toronto helped control the outbreak by voluntarily quarantining themselves.

Although the federal government has provided $1 million in aid to Nevada to prepare for a potential pandemic and has promised as much as $2 million more, the government has already sent the message that states should do their own planning.

During a recent visit to Southern Nevada, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt made it clear that Nevada should not rely on Washington for help if a flu pandemic occurs.

In a speech in Henderson, Leavitt warned communities not to expect the federal government to come to the rescue.

"We kind of had our dose of reality with Katrina," O'Brien said, referring to last summer's deadly hurricane that ravaged New Orleans and other areas of the Gulf Coast.

"Advanced preparations are the things that really need to happen so that people are in a position to handle the situation."

Toward that end, the county has performed many exercises to test its preparedness system. Activities such as dispensing medication countywide or isolating and quarantining people who require considerable agency interaction in a short time must be coordinated in advance, officials say.

"We have to institutionalize the preparatory practices so that people are talking about it among themselves in advance, so that when public information comes out, they say, 'Look, here's what you need to do to protect yourself,' " O'Brien said. "They take it seriously."