Published April 05, 2007 12:10 am - A forum at which representatives of businesses, schools, churches and local governments can learn about preparing for pandemic flu will be staged Thursday, May 17, at Missouri Southern State University.
Pandemic planning committee to conduct forum
By Wally Kennedy

A forum at which representatives of businesses, schools, churches and local governments can learn about preparing for pandemic flu will be staged Thursday, May 17, at Missouri Southern State University.

Members of the Pandemic Planning Committee for Joplin and Jasper County met Wednesday at the university to review plans for the forum and for a Web site being launched by the group.

The forum, which is being organized by Tony Moehr, director of the Jasper County Health Department, and Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department, could attract up to 400 people representing businesses, churches and school districts. Those attending will pick up information about how to prepare for a pandemic outbreak of the flu.

No registration fee will be required. A box lunch will be provided.

Plans call for the forum to be conducted in Webster Hall. An opening session would be followed by break-out sessions for specific groups.

The Web site, JasCoFlu.com, should be up and available for public viewing within a few days. The site, developed by PILR Technologies, will release local information about a flu outbreak in the event of a pandemic.

Creation of the Web site is being managed by the Regional Economic Development Center at MSSU.

Pandemic flu is a worldwide outbreak of an influenza virus to which people have little resistance. Depending on the potency of the virus, thousands of Americans, possibly millions, could die, health officials say. The committee has been meeting monthly since October to prepare the community for a potential pandemic flu.

Pandemic of 1918-19
The influenza pandemic of 1918-19 killed more people than World War I, at somewhere between 20 million and 40 million people. It has been cited as the most devastating epidemic in recorded world history.

Published January 11, 2007 12:17 am -
Officials: Prepare for flu
By Wally Kennedy

A guide to help families, businesses, schools and churches prepare for pandemic flu is now available from the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services.

Copies of the guide were distributed Wednesday to members of the Pandemic Planning Committee for Joplin and Jasper County. The committee has been meeting monthly since October with city and county health officials to get the community ready for a potential pandemic flu.

Pandemic flu is a worldwide outbreak of an influenza virus to which people have little resistance.

In 1918, the Spanish flu killed tens of millions of people worldwide, including at least 500,000 in the United States. The last major influenza pandemic occurred in 1968, when Hong Kong flu killed up to 1 million people worldwide, including 34,000 in the United States.

Health officials say the next pandemic is long overdue. Officials are concerned that the trigger for the next pandemic could be a mutation of H5N1, also known as avian or bird flu. For the virus to become a global killer, it would have to mutate into a form that can pass easily from human to human.

Committee members said the guide explains what pandemic flu is, how people should plan for it and what they can do to protect themselves once it arrives in a community.

Dan Pekarek, director of the Joplin Health Department, said some operations in the community, such as the Joplin R-8 School District and Joplin’s hospitals, are actively planning for a pandemic flu. But others, including local businesses, are not even aware that they should be planning, he said.

“Getting a copy of this guide would be a good place for a local business to start planning for a pandemic flu,” he said. “Eventually, we want to hold forums that will target segments of the community in which can explain how a pandemic flu could affect them.”

If history repeats itself, the pandemic would come in waves over a period of months. One-third of the world’s population could be sickened, health experts say. Schools and businesses would be closed to curtail the spread of the virus. Transportation would be disrupted, including the distribution of food.

The 12-page guide offers practical tips for creating family-response plans, and lists for developing emergency supplies of food, water and other necessities in case a pandemic forces people to stay at home for several days.

The Pandemic Planning Committee, which met at Missouri Southern State University, includes representatives from Joplin’s hospitals, social-service agencies, fire and police departments, the media, and faith-based organizations.

The committee, which is being assisted by the Regional Economic Development Center at MSSU, decided to create a subcommittee to look at ways in which local information about pandemic flu should be released to the public before and during an outbreak.

To get the guide:
“Preparing for Pandemic Flu: A Community Guide” may be obtained by calling (573) 751-6062 or by fax at (573) 751-6041. To order a copy via the Internet, people may visit www.dhss.mo.gov/Ready_in_3/PandemicInfluenza.html.