As concern about the avian flu virus grows, Massachusetts Department of Public Health officials updated their vaccination distribution plan and the status of the avian virus Tuesday at the department’s headquarters.
DPH Immunization Program Medical Director Dr. Susan Lett began the briefing with a parody slide reading “YOU’RE ALL GOING TO DIE” before delving into a more somber Avian Influenza Update.
Lett said the World Health Organization classified the flu’s status as a Level 3 Pandemic Alert both in Massachusetts and globally, meaning the new virus causes human infections but does not spread easily from one person to another.
Since Jan. 28, 2004, 126 human cases of avian flu have been confirmed with 64 cases resulting in death — a 50 percent mortality rate. Lett compared this statistic to a similar epidemic in 1918 that resulted in 40 to 100 million deaths worldwide.
Lett warned that as mortality rates decrease, transmission rates increase. To date, only two situations of human-to-human transmission have been confirmed and other human cases have been associated with exposure to poultry.
Nearly every week the Massachusetts state lab performs tests for the avian flu, Lett added.
“We do testing to rule out possibilities” she said. “[Health care] providers have this on their radar screen; they take it seriously.”
Suzanne Condon, director of the Center for Environmental Health, compared the avian flu testing to the 2001 testing processes done for anthrax. In Massachusetts, 3,000 cases were tested for anthrax and none returned positive.
“The system works” Condon said. “I know it works because we’ve had a number of false alarms.”
Since 1994 Massachusetts has been planning for local, regional and statewide responses to any form of a pandemic.
“There is no real way of knowing for certain when the pandemic will occur or how severe it will be,” Condon said.
In the event of a pandemic, Lett said, the virus would be able to mutate into a strain transmissible to humans.
The virus becomes contagious between humans when the mutated strain reproduces in the human immune system.
Lett sourced the outbreaks to birds’ seasonal migration and said the virus has spread to 16 countries since 2003. The WHO updates said 200 million birds have died due to illness or slaughter resulting from the bird flu.
“This is an unprecedented outbreak of high pathogenicity avian influenza in poultry,” Lett said.
The DPH also discussed its distribution of normal flu vaccines, and told residents it’s still not too late to get vaccinated.
“It’s important to remember that getting vaccinated in December or even January can still protect against the flu,” said DPH Commissioner Paul Cote Jr.
In October the Centers for Disease Control lifted the recommended restrictions on who may receive flu shots.
In a Nov. 15 press release, the Department of Public Health reported that it has already undergone mass vaccination distribution.
“[The Department of Public Health] has received and distributed all of the 728,040 doses of flu vaccine ordered for the year, bringing the total number of flu vaccine doses distributed to 1.4 million,” the release said. “This included both state and privately purchased flu vaccine.”
A vaccination for a virus cannot be developed until about six months after a flu strain has been identified, Condon said. But common sense practices can help keep the public healthy, such as staying home from work and school when sick, receiving annual flu shots and washing hands regularly with antibacterial hand soap.
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