Flu Pandemics Have Kept Red Cross Busy Over the Years
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LAST WEEK'S PROGRAM: Chris Izworski, disaster specialist, American Red Cross; programmer Gena Gates.What you need to know to protect your family from pandemic influenza was the timely, pertinent topic of the Bay City Rotary Club program last week at Lumber Barons.
Chris Izworski, introduced by President Gena Gates, was a last minute substitute for City Manager Robert Belleman, who was unable to make his scheduled presentation.
Izworski gave a history of flu pandemics beginning with the Spanish Flu Pandemic of 1918-1919 that killed about 500,000 people worldwide.
He described a pandemic as an outbreak of disease that spreads rapidly and is transmitted from human-to-human.
The Asian Flu of 1957-58 killed about 70,000 persons and the Hong Kong Flu of 1968-69 took about 36,000 lives, according to Izworski.
All the pandemics affected infants and the elderly except the Russian Flu in 1977-78 that killed 8,300, all under age 20, he said.
Red Cross officials are keeping a wary eye on the Avian Flu that has recorded 269 cases and 163 deaths but so far has had no sustained human-to-human transmission. No vaccine is available for this disease, he said, which may be spread by geese and swans coming from Russia.
What can you do to protect your family from flu?
Cover your mouth when you cough.
Keep your hands away from your face.
The Red Cross recommends keeping a kit in your home with 10 days supply of food and water, medical supplies and other necessities. "Make a plan now to care for your loved ones who may become sick," he said. "Build a culture in your workplace that it's okay to go home if you are sick and determine how to keep the business functioning if key staff can't work."
Also, ask your child's school what plans are in place to protect children from the inevitable pandemic, he added.
Stay away from sick people.
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