First Human Case of Influenza A H5N1 in U.S. Confirmed
THIS IS AN EXERCISE: THIS IS NOT A REAL EVENT.
For Immediate Release: July 18, 2006
Media Contact: Communications Office
Vermont Department of Health
000-000-0000
BURLINGTON - The Vermont Department of Health issued a health advisory today to the state's health care providers following confirmation of the first human case of avian influenza (H5N1) in the United States.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported a California man with recent travel history to Australia was diagnosed with H5N1 and is currently hospitalized in Los Angeles. Officials from the California Department of Health are investigating this case and implementing necessary control measures.
CDC and the Vermont Department of Health are recommending continuous surveillance and disease control measures.
On July 17, 2006, CDC reported a confirmed case in a resident of Toronto, Canada who was also exposed in Australia.
Vermont's health care providers will notify the Health Department of any patients with travel history to an area that has been impacted by avian influenza who: 1) have a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees with a cough or sore throat, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or other severe respiratory illness or 2) have had close contact (within 3 feet) with individuals suspected or confirmed to have the H5N1 avian influenza.
The CDC is not recommending that people avoid travel, but continues to advise people against non-essential travel to areas experiencing H5N1 outbreaks.
"The Vermont Emergency Health Operations Center (HOC) has been activated and we will take every precaution as Vermont responds to the first confirmed case of H5N1 in the United States," said Dave Cote, Executive Director of Emergency Preparedness for the Vermont Department of Health. "We are in close contact with health officials in California and at the national level in the U.S. and Canada. The Heath Department has set up an information line to help answer questions and alleviate concerns."
The Health Department Information Line numbers are: 000-000-0000 or 000-0000.
Limited person-to-person transmission of H5N1 was confirmed in January 2006 in Indonesia, and cases continue to occur in Southeast Asia.
Since July of 2006, when human-to-human transmission was confirmed in Southeast Asia, the United States has been on alert for pandemic influenza.
A new strain of H5N1 first emerged in 1997, and has caused outbreaks among domestic poultry in wild migratory birds in several Asian, European and African countries.
For more information on pandemic flu, please visit: http://healthvermont.gov.
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