Project Impact: Pandemic Flu Transcript
Text transcript of video clips extracted from the Project Impact video: Pandemic Flu, produced by the King County Office of Emergency Management. Eric Holdeman, Manager of the King County Office of Emergency Management, Dr. Jeff Duchin, Chief of Epidemiology, Public Health - Seattle & King County and Dr. Jim DeMayo, an infectious disease physician in practice in Pierce County, discuss the the flu and pandemic flu.
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What is the flu?
Eric Holdeman: "Well, why don't we start out with, what is the flu, and
Jim, why don't you take that question."
Dr. Jim DeMayo: "Well, classically that patient presents with severe
muscle aches, it's a very rapid onset, joint aches and spiking fevers up to
104-105 degrees sometimes, so it's a very dramatic illness. There can be some
upper respiratory tract symptoms, stuffy nose, but in general the overall
symptoms of the aches and high fever will predominate."
Dr. Jeff Duchin: "Yes, I'd like to agree with Dr. DeMayo that the flu is characterized by being probably the most severe respiratory tract infection/common viral infection that we have, and that's what makes it different from the common cold and many of the other illnesses which are circulating in the winter time, in particular among young children and working people as well.
The reason that we can tell when flu season is here is because the flu makes
you real sick, people feel like they've been hit by a truck. It's one of the
nastiest infections of the respiratory tract that we know. And it frequently
is followed by serious complications."
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What is a pandemic flu?
Dr. Jeff Duchin: "Very regularly, but thankfully infrequently, the flu
virus changes to a great degree, and that's because there are flu viruses
in many animal reservoirs throughout nature. In other words, there are 'avian'
or bird flu viruses and there are viruses that infect pigs and horses and
other animals.
When those viruses by chance get into an animal that's also infected by a
human virus, or a human possibly can be infected by a bird or a pig virus
in areas where there's a lot of farming of birds and pigs, those viruses can
mix up a little bit and come out looking totally different. A virus that looks
so different, that no one on earth has ever seen anything like that, and therefore
their immune system is totally unprepared to cope with it. When that happens,
there can be a world-wide flu epidemic, and that's called a 'pandemic.'
The most notorious pandemic was the pandemic of 1918-19, which was also called the Spanish Flu, although it probably originated in China. During that epidemic, 20 million people died worldwide, and it's estimated that 675,000 died in the U.S. during the one flu season of 1918-19.
So a 'flu pandemic' is a very explosive and rapidly spreading flu virus that
most of the population on the globe is vulnerable to.
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When is the flu season?
Eric Holdeman: "When is the flu season?"
Dr. Jim DeMayo: "In the Northern Hemisphere, the flu season generally
runs between December and April. There are sporadic cases during other times
of the year, but epidemics and large numbers of cases occur during that time
period."
Eric Holdeman: "And how about here for the Northwest in particular, does it start in November, or...?"
Dr. Jim DeMayo: "Well, anywhere in that range. We tend to be a little later up here than most other parts of the country, but anywhere in that range it can happen."
Dr. Jeff Duchin: "That's right, typically we see our cases starting
in January at epidemic levels during the influenza epidemic years. We have
a few cases in November, a few in December, but the real bulk of the disease
usually don't start up until January and can run through Spring, and that's
another reason why people, if they haven't gotten their vaccine in November
or December shouldn't feel it's too late. Flu cases occur through early Spring,
through March, so we can still get you vaccine, it only takes two weeks to
kick in and give protection."
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How contagious is the flu and should someone who has the flu not go into
work?
Eric Holdeman: "I probably would have to be on my deathbed before I did
not go in to work. There are some people, and I'm probably one of them, that
hey, if I'm going to feel ugly, I'll feel ugly at work versus at home, but
how contagious is the flu and should someone who has the flu not go to work?"
Dr. Jim DeMayo: "It certainly is contagious, it's very contagious and
they're putting co-workers at risk, so if a person has the symptoms of classic
flu, they should not go to work until after they're feeling better."
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When should a person see a doctor for the flu?
Dr. Jeff Duchin: "When these (flu-like) symptoms develop, usually the
patient's had a flu-like illness, starts to recover, and then starts to get
sick again, and anyone who's had the flu, feels like they're getting better,
then all of a sudden gets a fever again and starts to feel ill, at that point
probably should seek medical care, especially if they've got any underlying
medical conditions, because the likelihood is they've got what we call a secondary
infection.
(And) the flu, or influenza, makes people very vulnerable to being infected
by other organisms, other bacteria and viruses that are out there. So if you're
getting better and get worse again, that's a good time to consider seeing
your doctor."
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Who should get a flu shot?
Eric Holdeman: "Who should get a flu shot? Jim? (Dr. Jim DeMayo)"
Dr. Jim DeMayo: Patients over the age of 65, patients with complicated medical
problems, metabolic abnormalities, diabetes, end-stage renal disease, kidney
disease, patients with lung disease, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, anyone
who is on aspirin therapy, patients with cancers, immuno-suppressed patients."
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What is the most important thing people should know about the flu?
Eric Holdeman: "Jim (Dr. Jim DeMayo), what would you tell the public
today about the flu, just very briefly, if you had to make one point."
Dr. Jim DeMayo: "The most important thing at this time is prevention
of the flu, and people who are at risk should get their vaccines in a timely
manner. That's far more important than the antivirals that are available right
now. Vaccination can't be emphasized enough."
Dr. Jeff Duchin: "I'd like to agree with Dr. DeMayo, vaccination is
the hallmark, the foundation of prevention. Those who are susceptible and
at high risk really need to make sure they get the vaccine each year, and
also discuss with their health care providers the new pneumococcal pneumonia
vaccine, because that can prevent the most common deadly side effects of influenza.
So we have two good vaccines that can help prevent flu, and if we have good
ways of getting those to people, and people have a health care provider where
they get vaccine, if we have a pandemic we'll know where to send the vaccine
and access the population."
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