Story Created:
Aug 3, 2006 at 5:17 PM CST
Story Updated:
Aug 3, 2006 at 6:08 PM CST
TIPTON - Nine of Iowa's 99 counties do not have hospitals. And that can make dealing with a medical emergency much more difficult. The counties are Butler, Cedar, Louisa, Tama, Taylor, Mills, Warren, Winnebago and Worth. The lack of a hospital matters when planning for an outbreak of bird flu. In Cedar County they are preparing for the worst. They believe the bird flu will hit and they want to minimize the certain damage and casualties.
Most of the three dozen men and women sitting around tables in the basement of the Cedar County courthouse are health officials. They are discussing ways to handle an avian flu pandemic. Many of them say it is not a matter of if the bird flu comes to Cedar County, but when. Cedar County Public Health Director Rick Fleshin said, “Your casualties could be 800 or 400 in the first 45 days."
Those numbers are just for Cedar County. And they are scary when you realize Cedar County averages about 200 deaths a year. So the people sitting at tables need to figure out how to handle the situation as best as they can and as soon as they can. Cedar County Emergency Management Coordinator Sue Faith said, “We don't know who's going to get it. That's one of the things everyone is talking about now and why we're meeting."
Making matters worse for this rural county, it is one of nine in the state without a hospital. Faith said, “Worst case scenario opening up emergency hospital like they did in 1918 using gymnasiums and cots."
One more haunting thought. Computer models show a pandemic would peak in three months, but a vaccine would not be readily available for six months making a vaccine almost worthless.
While these numbers might make the bird flu sound like the end of the world, Fleshin says not to worry. Humans have survived every pandemic so far, including three in the 20th century.
Email Steve Nicoles at Steve.Nicoles@kcrg.com
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