US public at risk from complacency over flu -CDC

US public at risk from complacency over flu -CDC
06 May 2009 23:07:37 GMT Source: Reuters
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N06283215.htm

* As fear of flu subsides, CDC concerned about complacency

* CDC officials worried H1N1 could return in the fall

By Matthew Bigg

ATLANTA, May 6 (Reuters) - The U. S. public could become more vulnerable to a flu pandemic if complacency about the need for heightened vigilance sets in, health experts said on Wednesday.

Those concerns would escalate if the H1N1 virus that has killed two people in the United States and made 642 others sick mutates into a more virulent form by the start of the traditional flu season in the fall.

In all, there are 1,516 confirmed cases of the swine flu virus in 22 countries, according to the U. N. World Health Organization.

But in the United States fear about flu appears to have subsided since the epidemic came to public attention more than two weeks ago because many cases appear to be mild.

"The risk of complacency, or a sense that we have weathered this, is a serious one," said Stephen Redd, director of Influenza Coordination at the U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

"What we are going to be looking very hard at over the months to come is what's happening in other parts of the world and really trying to understand whether we would be at risk for a resurgence in the fall," Redd said.

CDC officials say they walk a fine line between ramping up public warnings to encourage people to take precautions such as washing hands while not adopting an alarmist posture that could risk their authority as the epidemic persists.

In one small sign of waning public interest in the flu threat, nationally syndicated talk show host Neal Boortz told his audience recently that the issue of flu was getting "really overblown."

New York has seen 97 cases of H1N1 flu, though most have been mild, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he was aware of the need to calibrate warnings to the public.

"There is always that danger (of crying wolf)," said Bloomberg in an interview. "There is always the danger of over-reacting (but) government has the responsibility to tell people what's going on and what to do about it."

"When I start talking in New York about disease ... the first thing I say is: 'I'm going to tell you what we know and what we don't know. And I'm not going to speculate on anything between," Bloomberg said.

NEW STRAINS

The CDC has spent years preparing for a pandemic and ranks communicating with the public on an equal footing with studying potential viruses and finding vaccines.

Dozens of scientists and public health specialists work amid a low volume of chatter at its 24/7 Emergency Operation Center, which is equipped with computer monitors, table lamps and hand sanitizer.

Teams of scientists collate and analyze data while others provide input on subjects ranging from ethics to policy to how to deal with the media.

The room is dominated by a series of flat-screen televisions set on one wall, each showing a critical piece of information and one tuned to CNN.

Elsewhere at the CDC, researchers are monitoring the virus to see if it could mutate into a more deadly strain.

They are conscious of a historic parallel -- in 1918, a relatively mild flu pandemic emerged, only to return with a vengeance months later to kill millions.

(Editing by Eric Beech)