News items on Avian Influenza H5N1

Tuesday, March 21: Globe and Mail reported that a nurses' union president and the Canadian Medical Association president were adamant there should not be mandatory flu vaccinations of nurses and doctors. Monday, March 20: "You are leading the way in terms of implementing bio-security measures at the farm level and reporting signs of disease early on to authorities," Canada's Minister of Health Tony Clement told a Toronto meeting of the Chicken Farmers of Ontario, which represents 1,100 poultry producers. "As chicken farmers, you represent the front lines of the war on avian flu. I'm here today to salute the tremendous work that you're doing in that regard." March 17: I underwent refitting of N95 face masks at work--mandatory two years after the first Ontario-hospitals-wide mask fitting during the SARS crisis. March 16: New York Times asked "Is Business Ready for a Flu Epidemic?" "But one piece of the plan may be missing: the ability of corporations to continue to provide vital services. Airlines, for instance, would have to fly health experts around the world and overnight couriers would have to rush medical supplies to the front lines. Banks would need to ensure that computer systems continued to move money internationally and that local customers could get cash. News outlets would have to keep broadcasting so people could get information that might mean the difference between life and death." March 12: New York Times reported "Right now, there are 105,000 ventilators, and even during a regular flu season, about 100,000 are in use. In a worst-case human pandemic, according to the national preparedness plan issued by President Bush in November, the country would need as many as 742,500." February: Ontario Ministry of Health Emergency Management Unit has contracted a respiratory therapist consultant to inventory all types of ventilators. "There are ventilators available over and beyond the 1096 ventilator supported beds reported in 2005. RTs know where they are."