Last updated 16:41, Tuesday, 13 January 2009
Cumbria is gearing up for a possible flu pandemic, which experts believe is becoming increasingly likely.
An emergency-planning exercise is due to take place at Carlisle Castle on March 24.
Representatives from local authorities, the emergency services, NHS and Environment Agency will simulate their response to a large-scale flu outbreak.
But the likely three-month timescale of a real pandemic will have to be condensed into a single day.
A report from Cumbria County Council’s head of resilience, Mike Smyth, outlines the thinking behind the exercise.
It says: “The likelihood of a flu pandemic increases with each passing year.
“To ensure the county council is ready to respond, focussed training and exercising will take place in 2009.
“Once completed, an audit of the council’s preparedness will be undertaken.”
Last year the Government named pandemic flu as the greatest threat facing Britain.
Ministers have decided that exercises in dealing with such an outbreak will be held in each of the nine English regions throughout this year.
Cumbria has been chosen to host the North West’s simulation.
It will be overseen by the gold standard team from the Emergency Planning College at Easingwold, North Yorkshire.
This is an elite response group set up to cope with disasters such as storms, floods, chemical and radioactive releases, and disease outbreaks.
There were three outbreaks of pandemic flu in the last century of which the 1918-19 “Spanish flu” was the worst, killing at least 20 million worldwide.
The last outbreak was in 1968-9.
A pandemic is caused by a new strain of the flu virus, to which humans are not immune.
Ministers estimate that up to 30 million people in Britain could be affected and potentially thousands could die.
The Royal College of GPs and the British Medical Association has just issued the first set of comprehensive guidance to GPs on dealing with pandemic flu.
These could see flu patients segregated in separate waiting rooms, and doctors and patients having to wear protective masks to reduce the risk of spreading infection.
Retired GPs could be called up to sign death certificates.
And many flu sufferers would be told to stay indoors and nominate a “flu friend” to collect drugs on their behalf.
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