The possibility of a pandemic flu is upon us. A great deal of information is available from the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization. This is a time when the internet can be really helpful by allowing us all to have access to high quality health information. Unfortunately there are many websites that have uninformed or inaccurate information. Some sites deliberately produce the wrong information to scare or mislead people. When looking for information on this sort of potential international disaster focus mainly on major Government and University websites, such as the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes for Health and the World Health Organization.
These sites are literally updated by the hour with the latest data and infection rates, and include excellent educational materials for the general public. There is always a tendency to overreact in our current situation, such as when the Vice President Jo Biden was quoted on April 30th as saying he would not be flying anywhere. The fear and panic is dependent on the possibility of pandemics has to be counted by being realistic about the importance of basic precautions, and ensures that fear itself does not cause major secondary economic, social and personal problems and losses through inappropriate behavior and actions taken by individuals and the population as a whole.
We need to consider both public health and mental health responses to pandemic flu to ensure that we don't panic. This involves the following:
-Understanding different outcomes from different influenza pandemics and the many differences among various types of influenza viruses. Bird flu is very different from swine flu, for example.
-Understand antigenic drift and antigenic shift - how the influenza virus spreads around the world
-Understand basic mental health disaster (DMH) principles and the methods, strategies, and best practices for delivering DMH services to ensure that there is no mass panic
-Recognize typical physical and psychological reactions to pandemic disasters and their time scope which can be prolonged, and often excessive, so that the reactions themselves become a chronic disability
-Understand differences between mental health services and other clinical interventions disaster
- Standard assessment processes following a pandemic disaster
It is crucial that we manage this situation without panic and inappropriate fear, are practical and pragmatic, and most importantly use simple precautions such as hand washing and basic hygiene as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control. At this time it is important to use the internet to keep up to date. And it is vital not to be afraid, and not to allow panic to overtake commonsense when confronted by a potential pandemic.
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