Online Resources Provide Continual H1N1 Flu Updates
Monday May 4, 2009
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The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services has consolidated government information on one site: www.pandemicflu.gov. This site offers the latest press releases from HHS, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other government sources. It also posts the latest guidelines for clinicians.
The Association of State and Territorial Health Officers is posting the latest updates from individual states on emergency declarations, guidance for schools, guidance for healthcare providers, testing guidelines, travel advisories, fact sheets, press releases, and information in other languages at www.astho.org/templates/display_pub.php?pub_id=3797&admin=1.
The U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality is offering tools and resources for influenza preparedness. These include a guide for communities to deal with mass casualties, a program to cross-train clinicians in respiratory care, call center preparedness guidelines, instructions for creating vaccination centers, and various guides for increasing capacity in the case of a surge: www.ahrq.gov/prep/swineflu.htm.
The CDC’s main H1N1 flu Web site can be found at www.cdc.gov/swineflu. Guidance for clinicians on topics such as psychological support for essential service workers, handling the flu in HIV-positive patients, emergency medical services response, and specimen collection can be found at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/guidance. Case counts are posted at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm.
An interactive Google map for tracking cases of H1N1 flu in the United States is operational at http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&t=p&msa=0&msid=106484775090. The BBC has posted a world map tracking the progression of the outbreak worldwide at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8021547.stm.
The Food and Drug Administration’s Emergency Use Authorization guidelines for Relenza and Tamiflu antivirals, and the rRT-PCR Swine Flu Panel test are available at www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2009/NEW02002.html.
Swine flu resources from the National Library of Medicine are available at http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/swineflu.html.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration offers information about stockpiling facemasks and respirators at www.osha.gov/dsg/guidance/stockpiling-facemasks-respirators.html. Information on masks also is available from the CDC at www.cdc.gov/swineflu/masks.htm.
The Society of Critical Care Medicine offers precautions for handling the outbreak at www.sccm.org/Public_Health_and_Policy/Disaster_Resources/Pages/default.aspx. Nurse-specific information is offered by the American Nurses Association at www.nursingworld.org.
Information for school nurses performing H1N1 flu tests in relation to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act is spelled out at www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.
Updates on the response from the Department of Homeland Security are available at www.dhs.gov/xprepresp/programs/swine-flu.shtm. The policy on assistance available through the Federal Emergency Management Agency is posted at www.fema.gov/government/grant/pa/9523_17.shtm.
The World Health Organization’s H1N1 flu updates can be found at www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html. The organization raised its pandemic alert from phase 4 to phase 5 on Thursday. Daily virtual press briefings also are available here. The Pan American Health Organization is offering updates in English and Spanish at http://new.paho.org.
Information in Spanish from the International Association of Emergency Managers is available at www.iaem.es/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=616&Itemid=. The Mexican Department of Health is found at http://portal.salud.gob.mx.
For instant updates, a H1N1 flu widget from HHS can be downloaded at www.hhs.gov/web/library/index.html#HHSWidgets. The CDC is offering ongoing information via Twitter, user name CDCemergency. The World Health Organization is offering an RSS feed at www.who.int/feeds/entity/csr/disease/swineflu/en/rss.xml.
For further questions, the CDC runs a hotline: 800-CDC-INFO (800-232-4636).
Natasha Emmons is national news editor for Gannett Healthcare Group.
To comment, e-mail editorNTL@gannetthg.com.
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