MEMORANDUM
SUBJECT: EPA's Preparations for Avian Influenza and Potential Human Pandemic
FROM: Administrator Stephen L. Johnson
TO: All EPA Employees
Building on its efforts to prepare our nation for the likely arrival of the avian influenza, as well as a potential of a human pandemic, earlier today the federal government released the Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza . This first-of-its-kind interagency planning document describes more than 300 critical actions, many of which have already been initiated, to address the threat of a human pandemic. For a copy of this plan, please visit the White House Web site,
http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/pandemic-influenza-implementation.html .
Definitions
Avian influenza (also referred to as bird flu) is a flu virus among wild and domestic birds. The H5N1 type of bird flu is deadly to birds. To date, bird flu has been discovered in both poultry and wild bird populations in Africa, Asia and Europe, and there have been cases where bird flu has been transmitted from birds-to-humans. Unless people come into direct contact with infected birds, it is unlikely they will contract the disease.
Human pandemic influenza (also referred to as human pandemic) is a dangerous type of the human flu virus that is transmitted from human-to-human. Pandemic flu causes a global outbreak, or pandemic, of a serious illness that can be transmitted easily from person-to-person and for which people have no immunity. To date, there have been no reported cases of a human-to-human spread of the H5N1 type of bird flu.
EPA’s Federal Roles and Responsibilities
EPA has three roles in preparing for the likely arrival of bird flu, as well as a possible human pandemic, under national plans and directives.
These responsibilities are an extension of EPA’s core mission, and are as follows:
· To support the federal response in bird disposal and decontamination in the event of bird flu;
· To support the federal response in decontamination in the event of a human pandemic; and,
· To lead the federal response in protecting our drinking water and wastewater infrastructure in the event of a human pandemic.
For more detailed information on EPA’s federal roles and responsibilities, please visit,
http://intranet.epa.gov/agcyintr/pandemic.htm .
EPA is working on its own plan to ready itself for the likely arrival of the bird flu and a potential human pandemic. Once finalized, EPA’s plan will be made available to all Agency employees through future all-hands messages and will be posted on the Intranet.
The preparation and education that is occurring here at EPA, and throughout the nation by our federal, state, and local partners, will help ensure a coordinated national response for both the arrival of the bird flu, as well as a potential human pandemic.
For more information on U.S. Government avian influenza and human pandemic information and planning, please visit, www.pandemicflu.gov .
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