Concerns about avian flu has prompted officials to plan for a pandemic. Two forums were held Tuesday in Bismarck to explain the plans.

"It's not just a public health issue, it's a community issue," emergency preparedness coordinator Cheryl Underhill said.

A pandemic is a worldwide outbreak of a new virus. People have greater susceptibility to it because they do not have an immunity to it. Avian flu, also known as bird flu, could become a pandemic flu.

Avian flu is a strain of influenza seen in birds that has infected some people in the world. There are no reports of animals with avian flu or humans with avian flu in the United States, according to a pandemic flu Web site managed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

So far, people get the avian flu from infected birds. It does not easily spread from person to person, which would be required for a pandemic.

"The only thing protecting humans, is they do not catch it readily," said Public Health director Paula Flanders.

If there is an outbreak of avian flu in people, it could take up to six months for there to be a vaccine, Underhill said. Currently, there is no vaccine. Additionally, flu antivirals, like Tamiflu, would only be used to treat people who have avian flu and not as a preventative, she said. The antivirals, however, are not as effective against treating the bird flu as they once were, she said.

Instead, people need to take some simple precautions to prevent the spread of infection.

"The number one way to prevent the spread of infection is to wash your hands," Underhill said.

Keeping hands away from the face and keeping surfaces disinfected also can help decrease the chance of spreading infection, she said.

People also need to create emergency kits for up to a two- to three-week period. It can have many of the same things as an emergency kit for tornados or winter weather with a few additions.

The time frame to plan for is longer than most emergency kits because of it being an illness. In addition to a battery operated radio, light source, water for a gallon per person per day and first aid supplies, people need a thermometer, a face mask, a variety of over-the-counter medications, food and facial tissues.

In addition to having the emergency kits, the food and medication items in the kit should be rotated out every six months and families should practice for an emergency twice a year, said Mary Tello-Pool, the pandemic flu planner. She demonstrated what to put in an emergency kit.

Avian flu has a 60 percent fatality rate among people who have become infected, Underhill said. People under 40 also tend to be the age group most susceptible, unlike seasonal flu which primarily affects the elderly, she said.

This difference in age groups that the avian flu and season flu affects is used as part of the state surveillance plan. Health officials will track work absenteeism and increased sales in over the counter flu medications as part of this surveillance to see if a new strain of flu is in the community, Underhill said.

If there is an outbreak of avian flu, public health officials hope there would be voluntary quarantine so they do not have to resort to legal quarantine. This is because the chance of transmission increases in large groups. Seasonal flu, for instance, spreads rapidly through the state after the Class B boys basketball tournament. Flanders said the flu spread to communities that did not have it in the week following the tournament.

The state also has plans for dispersing vaccine and handling mass fatalities. More information about pandemic flu is available at www.pandemicflu.gov and the state plan is available at www.health.state.nd.us/EPR and clicking on "Pandemic Influenza Response Plan Summary."

(Reach reporter Sara Kincaid at 250-8251 or sara.kincaid@bismarcktribune.com.)