• Editorial
• Release of the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza
• 2006/07 Commonwealth Budget
  • Avian influenza — border control measures
  • Avian influenza — maintaining the delivery of Australian Government services overseas
• Queensland 2006/07 Budget
• Victoria Budget 2006/07 Budget
• Pandemic Flu Preparedness
• New Publications
  • US National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza
  • UK Checklist for businesses for pandemic flu planning
  • UK Clinical guidelines for patients with an influenza like illness during an influenza pandemic
  • Canadian Continuity Planning Guide for Canadian Business
• Compensation for pandemic vaccine out of Bill
• Update on NZ pandemic publications
• Upcoming events
  • Workshop on the changes required for IT professionals during a pandemic
  • Working as your organisation's pandemic influenza officer

Editorial

It has been awhile since we put out the last pandemic e-news. The delay has been caused by a huge range of activities we have been drawn into in the last few months. Consequently our 3 much anticipated historical books on the 1918-1919 Pandemic Influenza experience in Australia have also been onhold.

Another development which may be of interest is that we have just commissioned Dr Barry Gilbert to produce a course called "Working as your organisation's pandemic influenza officer". Dr Gilbert works at Public Health Management and produced the pandemic business continuity plan for the Melbourne Fire and Emergency Service Board.

Two other activities the Centre is currently working on are:

• A workshop on large scale remote teleworking during a pandemic. This workshop will focus on the constraint imposed on teleworking because of business processes, as well as the technical network issues.
• A paper on the legal and contractual issues that would appear during a pandemic.

This newsletter updates you on the several government budgets and the next newsletter will cover the rest.

Athol Yates
Executive Director
Australian Homeland Security Research Centre

Release of the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza

The Australian Government has released the Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza (AHMPPI). It states what the Australian Government will be doing from a health perspective.

It expands and clarifies many of the issues in the Australian Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza released in June 2005. The AHMPPI will compliment the soon-to-be-released National Action Plan for a Human Influenza Pandemic, which brings together Commonwealth Government and state and territory government planning, is being prepared for the Council of Australian Government.

The AHMPPI is divided into four parts:

• Part 1 provides important background information on the nature of influenza and pandemics.
• Part 2 describes what the Commonwealth Government is doing to prepare for a possible pandemic, from a health perspective.
• Part 3 describes how a pandemic might play out, and the actions that would be needed to respond to it.
• Part 4 provides practical information about what groups and individuals can do to prepare for a pandemic, to manage during it, and to recover from it.

The AHMPPI can be downloaded from here.

2006/07 Commonwealth Budget

There were two new measures announced in the 2006/07 Commonwealth Budget.
 
Below are details of expenditure.

Avian influenza — border control measures

Expense ($m)

The Government will provide the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service with $44.1 million over three years to enhance border controls, and implement other measures to prevent the entry of avian influenza (bird flu) into Australia.

The expanded programme responds to the ongoing avian influenza threat and will concentrate on increasing the number of quarantine staff at air and sea ports, preventative measures in Northern Australia and research and modelling of the disease.

Avian influenza — maintaining the delivery of Australian Government services overseas

Expense ($m)

The Government provided $1.8 million in 2005/06 to enable the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide antiviral medication, protective equipment and associated medical support for staff at certain overseas posts. This funding will help ensure the maintenance of services at these posts in the event of an avian influenza pandemic.

There were several other budget expenditures which will deliver significant benefits if outbreaks in Australia occur which are not included in the items above. These include:

• Support of the Council of Australian Governments agendas, via the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, on pandemic preparedness.
• Improvements to communications within government and with the public during a national crisis. The measure includes $6.6 million in capital funding in 2006/07 for fit out costs and IT equipment.

Below is a summary of the Expense measures up to the 2005-06 Mini-Budget (MYEFO) released in December 2006.

Queensland 2006/07 Budget

A total of $61.6 million will be spent on biosecurity activities to protect the existing capacity of producers in Queensland. Key initiatives in biosecurity will include enhanced emergency response systems, particularly for new and emerging threats such as avian influenza.

Victoria Budget 2006/07 Budget

The Victorian Budget included one initiative. It is below

Pandemic Flu Preparedness

Funding is provided to strengthen preparedness and capacity to respond to, and contain, a potential influenza pandemic, including supplementing the State’s stockpile of anti-viral medications and protective wear for healthcare workers, strengthening the capability of hospital surge management plans and developing a comprehensive communications strategy for community information needs.

New Publications

US National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza

The US strategy was released on 3 May 2006. Read it here.

UK Checklist for businesses for pandemic flu planning

Published on 18 May 2006, the Guidance was produced by the UK Cabinet Office in consultation with the Health Departments and with other Government Departments. The Cabinet Office has issued it as part of its role in supporting the Department of Health, as the lead department, in preparing and planning for a possible flu pandemic. Read it here

UK Clinical guidelines for patients with an influenza like illness during an influenza pandemic

Published on 6 June 2006, this document contains provisional guidelines for health professionals regarding the treatment of pandemic influenza, agreed by experts from the British Thoracic Society, the British Infection Society and the Health Protection Agency. Read it here

Canadian Continuity Planning Guide for Canadian Business

Released in April 2006, the Canadian Manufacturers And Exporters have produced a Continuity Planning Guide for Canadian Business focusing on exporting.Read it here

Compensation for pandemic vaccine out of Bill

The following is an interesting item from the US.

An emergency funding Bill had been proposed in the US which included about US$1.9 billion to prepare for an avian flu pandemic plus $289 million proposal by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy to compensate anyone who is adversely affected by the influenza vaccine. The bill was passed with the exception of the compensation component. Following its defeat, Mr. Kennedy said "If a flu pandemic begins, the nation will have to call on its first responders -- health workers, police officers, firefighters and others -- to take an experimental vaccine so that they can perform their vital work of halting the spread of the disease.” "Sadly, House Republicans have inexplicably stripped out the funding." Source: http://www.pandemicflu.gov/news/press.html

Update on NZ pandemic publications

The influenza pandemic planning information on the Ministry of Economic Development's (MED) website has just been updated, with new information added.
 
The new/updated information includes:

• New information on possible internal border measures, aimed primarily at infrastructure providers and transport operators;
• An updated log of questions and answers raised by infrastructure providers;
• A link to a report recently released by the Telecommunications Carriers' Forum that assesses the service supply capabilities of New Zealand's telecommunications industry; and
• Updated links to other official New Zealand sources of information on planning for an influenza pandemic.

MED is also preparing a brochure to prompt good pandemic planning by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).  The brochure is intended to complement information in the Business Continuity Planning Guide, released in October 2005, which was aimed at larger organisations. Development of the brochure is well advanced, and will be available on MED's website shortly.

Upcoming events

Workshop on the changes required for IT professionals during a pandemic
26 June 2006, 1:30-5:00.
Canberra

Workshop aim: To identify the specific and unique issues which IT professionals need to address when preparing for or responding to pandemic influenza. A publication identifying the issues and appropriate responses will be produced following the workshop. Participants will receive a free copy of the publication.

Brochure here. Register here.

Working as your organisation's pandemic influenza officer
21 July 2006
Canberra

Course aims: The aim of this course is to provide participants with the knowledge, confidence and process to effectively serve as an organisation’s pandemic influenza officer before, during and after a major influenza outbreak.

Brochure here. Register here.