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News
13 April 2007
- News Briefs
- Call for involvement for the CSMF Pandemic Subcommittee
- GP flu simulation exercise launched
- Avian Flu Market opened to predict outbreaks
- Pandemic
Influenza History Conference –
13 June 2007
- Tamiflu and neuropsychiatric symptoms
- A directory of pandemic goods and services providers is currently being produced. For information, contact keanne.stephenson@homelandsecuritygroup.com.au.
- The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources is offering free small business planning workshops for small business owners designed in preparing for and recovering from crises such as natural disasters, product recalls, or an influenza pandemic. They will teach small business owners how to develop and test a contingency plan and know when to use it. The workshops will be held around the country from 26 March to 14 May 2007. For more information see www.industry.gov.au/workshops
Commonwealth Safety Management Forum (CSMF) is organising to produce Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Guidelines.
The CSMF is an industry group of approximately 70 Commonwealth and Australian Capital Territory departments and agencies and Government Business Enterprises. The CSMF provides a readily accessible across-government ‘round table’ for human resource, injury prevention and injury management advisors and practitioners seeking information and assistance to resolve health and safety issues affecting the workplace. Subcommittees of the CSMF actively prepare policies, procedures and guidelines addressing health and safety issues affecting member agencies. CSMF Membership Information is available at http://www.csmf.net.au/aboutus.htm.
The CSMF has put out an expression of interest for individuals to be involved in writing the guidelines. To assist with formation of the CSMF Subcommittee, the following considerations have been identified for inclusion within Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Guidelines:
- social distancing
- infection control
- workplace cleaning/disinfection
- managing workplace entry
- teleworking
- contact management
- minimising absenteeism and presenteeism
- managing staff who become ill at work
- provision and utilisation of personal protective equipment
- home quarantine
- managing psychological anxiety
- emergency human resource delegations
- training and communication
A meeting is being held in Canberra on 19 April and it will allow subcommittee nominees to informally meet and network prior to embarking upon a review of the draft 'scope' and circulation of documents to assist with composition of 'people management' Pandemic and Emergency Preparedness Guidelines.
Also at the meeting will be 2 presentations:
- Rod Schreiber, “Infection Control and PPE”, Department of Health and Aging
- Luke Jansen, “Pandemic Preparations”, ACT Health
Information: Click here.
A team from the Australian National University (ANU) has launched a simulation program designed to prepare GPs for a pandemic influenza outbreak.
The exercise encompasses two simulations which involve preparation during the early stages of a pandemic, and the need for internal review during an established pandemic.
The head of the project, Dr Christopher Pearce, said GPs would have to incorporate home visits, telephone consultations and in-car consultations into their practices during a pandemic to maintain minimal virus exposure.
The Pandemic Influenza Simulation Exercise for General Practice was prepared as part of the “Strengthening the Contribution of General Practice to the Control of Pandemic Influenza” study funded by the National Health and Medical Research Council.
It can be accessed online at www.agpns.org/moodle
Ensuring your organisation and staff are prepared for a pandemic influenza outbeak. For a demonstration, please contact Lee Stewart on 0410 559 625 or email lee.stewart@pandemic.net.au or Keanne Stephenson on 0412 472 766 or email keanne.stephenson@pandemic.net.au
Academics from the University of Iowa have opened the Avian Flu Market (AFM) to predict influenza outbreaks using market forecasting tools.
The AFM is a product of the Iowa Electronic Market which has an impressive prediction record proven superior to alternative methods, such as opinion polls.
The market will recruit medical professionals and others with pandemic influenza knowledge to trade on the likelihood of certain events, including if Phase 4 of the WHO Pandemic Alert Period will be reached by July 1 or when avian influenza will reach the Americas.
Participants will trade using virtual currency and all winnings will be paid in the form of educational grants.
University of Iowa Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine Dr Phil Polgreen said they have had success with the program in the seasonal influenza market. The Flu Activity Market was opened in 2004 and is designed to predict when flu activity will start, peak and end within a state.
“Farmers have used futures markets for decades to make decisions about what crops to plant,” Dr Polgreen said.
“We’re just borrowing that concept to help people in public health and health care make decisions about the future.”
The AFM is a collaboration of the Tippie College of Business and Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine and is supported by a $US245,685 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
“This has the potential to be enormously helpful for planners who have to coordinate resources, such as vaccine supplies, and contact those most vulnerable to infection,” Dr Polgreen said. “We are trying to come up with a new way to plan for the future, one that is easy to use, efficient, and inexpensive.”
For information, see the Health Prediction Market at http://fluprediction.uiowa.edu/fluhome/index.html
A seminar on the historical lessons of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic will be held on Wednesday 13 June by the Australian Homeland Security Research Centre (AHSRC).
Lessons from the Past for Today’s Pandemic Planners will provide attendees with an in depth understanding of the consequences of the 1918-1919 influenza pandemic and how they apply today.
The speakers include
- Dr Keith Horsley, Medical Research Officer, Australian Institute of Health and Welfare
- Dr Colin Johnston, Chief Medical Adviser, Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
- AHSRC Executive Director, Athol Yates,
The seminar will be followed by the Inaugural RNSA Terrorism History conference on 14 June.
For more information, email admin@homelandsecurity.org.au
Tamiflu and neuropsychiatric symptoms
There have been media reports recently regarding changes to the Tamiflu (oseltamivir phosphate) label in Japan, recommending that the treatment not be used in children aged between 10 years and 20 years of age with the exception of high risk patients. The reports have also linked Tamiflu to suicides and neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Roche’s Global Headquarters has said it does not see this as an appropriate action as no casual relationship has been established between neuropsychiatric events and treatment with Tamiflu.
New data from the US and Japan support that there is no established casual link between neuropsychiatric symptoms and treatment with Tamiflu. Roche Products (Australia) has advised the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) of this information.
Clinical studies have shown similar rates of neurological and psychiatric events in paediatric influenza patients treated with Tamiflu compared to those receiving no treatment for their influenza. Additionally, recent data derived from US health insurance records between 1999 and 2006 of over 101,000 influenza patients treated with Tamiflu and over 225,000 influenza patients not taking Tamiflu, have shown that the Tamiflu treated patients showed a lower likelihood of experiencing central nervous system (CNS) events such as delirium, delusion, confusion, hallucination and aggressive behaviour compared to those not receiving treatment.
During the 2005/2006 influenza season the Japanese Ministry of Health Labor and Welfare coordinated a scientific study on the occurrence of influenza-associated symptoms. In accordance with previous clinical trials data, the study reported no increase in neuropsychiatric events in patients with influenza receiving Tamiflu versus those not receiving the treatment.
Roche Products (Australia) continuously reviews post-marketing safety information and provides regular updates to the regulatory agencies around the world including the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) in Australia. Based upon reports received over the last influenza season Roche has revised the Tamiflu product label in Australia to include reports of neuropsychiatric events in patients with influenza in a similar way to changes in the US and the EU. Reports of neuropsychiatric events in patients taking Tamilfu are very rare based on usage, and a causal relationship between the use of Tamiflu and the likelihood of neuropsychiatric events in influenza patients cannot be established. Roche Products Australia has notified the TGA of this. Roche Products Australia, like its counterpart offices in the US and the EU, views its label as appropriate and does not envisage further label changes based on the actions in Japan.
Roche Products (Australia) have updated the production information (PI) for health professionals and are in the process of updating the Consumer Medicine Information (CMI) for consumers. The statements in the PI and CMI reflect their position statement that reports of neuropsychiatric events in patients taking Tamilfu are very rare based on usage, and a causal relationship between the use of Tamiflu and the likelihood of neuropsychiatric events in influenza patients cannot be established.
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