PAHO Supports Pandemic Planning

The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) is working with its member countries to develop national influenza pandemic preparedness plans to help them cope should a new and virulent strain of influenza cause a global epidemic.

PAHO's technical cooperation in this area is based on guidelines developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1999, which are currently being updated and incorporated into a "model national plan" for pandemic preparedness.

Otavio Oliva, PAHO regional advisor on viral diseases, says, "A number of countries, particularly in the Southern Cone, have been developing preparedness plans for some time. Others are just beginning the process. But there are many things that still need to be done on all sides."

The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan, which follows the WHO guidelines, "provides a good example of a fully developed plan," says Oliva. "Even the best plan cannot prevent cases once the pandemic is under way, but it can help minimize the impact."

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are supporting both PAHO's and WHO's efforts in this area. PAHO and the CDC plan to hold a workshop in May in Atlanta for countries of the Andean region and Central America. It will provide training in epidemiology and surveillance of influenza and other respiratory viruses and provide an opportunity for the countries to discuss and compare their progress on developing pandemic preparedness plans.

A similar workshop was held in Rio de Janeiro in April 2004 on surveillance of and response to epidemic-prone respiratory viral diseases, including severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and avian flu.

PAHO's pandemic preparedness efforts focus on strengthening countries’ capacities in the following key areas:

• Epidemiological surveillance of influenza.
• Supply and distribution of vaccines and antiviral drugs.
• Health services preparedness.
• Hospital capacity and response.
• Risk communication.

The Canadian national pandemic plan notes that "the most effective public health intervention to mitigate the impact of a pandemic is through immunization with an effective vaccine against the novel virus, and, to a lesser extent, through the use of antiviral drugs." Oliva adds that risk communication —"what governments are going to tell people"—will also be of critical importance.

PAHO has been providing ongoing technical cooperation to its member countries in the areas of influenza surveillance and laboratory and diagnostic capacity, and has been promoting the use of an annual influenza vaccine in the region (see article below). Pandemic preparedness planning has become a priority in this work in recent years.