Bird flu. Seems so strange to even put the words down on the screen but we as funeral professionals have lots to think about here and we should begin the process now.
I know this issue has lurked around in the back of my mind for months. The outbreaks and subsequent destruction of 10s even 100s of MILLIONS of chickens and other poultry in Asia. Killed to elimnate the continuing chance of interaction between the avian incubating population and humans. I paid attention but then I let it slip away. This time, though, I've started to hear credible people talk about the possibility of 10s of millions of human deaths in the United States alone. THAT got my attention again and this time I'm going to talk about it--A LOT.
We don't get bird related illnesses all that often. The biggies like small pox hang out in pigs but every once in a while a bug will jump from birds to humans. In the case of H5N1 (as it is know in medical circles), it has crossed over and killed human beings. Small outbreaks thus far and only a small chance that the disease moved from person to person. Most of the deaths occurred with poultry workers. At the same time the death percentages were high with humans. In one outbreak mentioned, half the people infected died. That's right, half.
From what I have read we do not have a panic situation yet. The Asian outbreaks have been quelched and humans remain safe for the time being. Nevertheless, this current strain which can infect humans is out there among wild geese and other migratory water foul. They do carry it with them as they fly from region to region around the globe and pass the virus along to other birds. Should the virus mutate into a truly deadly and person to person transmittable form, the virus could travel the globe even if we were to stop world wide travel in and instant. This bug has WINGS!
Some suggest that it is just a matter of time that the virus mutate into a deadly form. Odds they say are high that this will happen within the next 10 years, maybe less. If this is the case, then we as defacto members of the local health emergency response system need to get informed about what all this means. We also need to begin the process of coordinating efforts and drafting the kinds of contingency planning necessary to meet the needs.
We need answers to all kinds of questions. What will be the proper procedure for handling the remains of a H5N1 deceased? If there is an epidemic outbreak, what will your local community do to handle these deaths? Will they continue to allow for individual burials in individual plots or will the designate special areas (just as they did during the 1918 pandemic)? How and when do you curtail public gatherings such as funerals? Will we be allowed to have funerals? How will we get caskets and other supplies if over the road travel is curtailed or stopped?
These are just a few of the questions that need attention. We need lots more preparation for something of this magnitude. It has been 87 years since the world has seen such a spread of disease and needless to say the world has changed a great deal in that time. The good news is we have much better communications resources than we did back then and we might just have enough information to keep this thing nipped in the bud. At the same time, we have added LOTS of population to this world in that period of time and we do lots more intercontinental, even interstate travel than they did back then.
The 1918 outbreak killed between 20 and 40 MILLION people (we just don't have the records to be sure) all around the globe and that flu had a mortality rate of 2.5%. Some of the indications on the bird flu suggest that the mortality rate could be much higher than that. If so, we will have a devastating challenge on our hands.
Why do I write all this? Simple. I want people to notice and I want our leaders in funeral service to start paying attention so that they get this work started. I want to see our state associations build connections with other state agencies to begin sorting out the issues and developing the necessary contingency plans. I want to see our national organizations begin to compile and distribute credible information about Avian Flu and to build relationships with our federal organizations to prepare and plan for this possibilities. I also want to see our supplier networks step up and participate as well. They will need to know what to do and how to continue to operate in the midst of this crisis. We will need to know how to work together and in cooperation with local, state and federal agencies to keep the resources available. I also want to see our metal health and counseling affiliates begin to contingency plan themselves. How will we answer people's questions in this sort of grief situation?
When it comes, it will come fast and in a big panic. That's not the time to try to figure this stuff out. We need to corral our resources and begin the process now so that we do not end up with a national panic and with lots of our colleagues dead for lack of preparation and information.
By the way, if you think it's old news. Think again. Here's a link from TODAY that talks about a Bird Flu problem now going on in Indonesia: Indonesia Outbreak (reported Sept. 21, 2005)
Also, I have uploaded a general information document from the Centers for Disease Control website which give a three page over view of the Avian Flu. It was last updated in May of this year. Just click the link here: CDC Avian Flu Facts PDF
Now's the time. Talk with your state board of registration, your state and national association leaders. Get them working on this problem. We will not regret the effort.
BT
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