A CALL TO ACTION FOR PARENTS -

BE PREPARED FOR NATURAL DISASTERS!

Each day we are inundated with news about our increasing vulnerability to an outbreak of Avian influenza, commonly known as the ‘bird flu.’ As parents, we are especially attentive to the health concerns of our children. We are used to the routine preventive measures that help keep our kids healthy: mandatory shots, yearly check-ups, vitamins, good nutrition, daily exercise, a loving environment. We are accustomed to the illnesses familiar to many young ones like the common cold, earaches, sore throats, lice, and the chicken pox.

But now we are confronted with a different kind of health concern, one that is much more dangerous and, if a pandemic occurs, will spread quickly between humans. Since 2003, outbreaks of the bird flu have been confirmed in more than 48 countries and territories, according to the World Organization for Animal Health. In late June, the World Health Organization confirmed human-to-human transmission of the bird flu in Indonesia. Given this startling news and recent natural disasters including Hurricane Katrina, it is clearly time to begin paying attention to disaster preparation to keep our children, families, neighborhoods and communities safe. In my book, Bird Flu What To Do: Prepare To Survive, I present disaster planning as something everyone should “just do,” just like we don’t think twice about buying car or health insurance.

What is the Bird Flu?

The bird flu is a virus that has affected birds and people in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Most people have contracted the illness from direct contact with infected poultry or surfaces that have been contaminated by them. Recently, the WHO confirmed that a boy passed the bird flu to his father and that there was a change in the virus that may make it spread very fast (like common colds and flu viruses).

Why is it important to take steps to prepare now?

There is no vaccine and no drug that has been proven to directly safeguard against the effects of the bird flu. If one is developed, it may take 6 months to bring it to market, and we don’t know if there will not be enough for everyone.
If a pandemic becomes a reality and comes to our communities, it will spread quickly. People will be fearful, and planning at this point would be chaotic.
Disaster planning can give you a sense of security because you will have thought through your options, done everything you can do, and you will have a support system in place through neighborhood and community organization.

Why are children especially vulnerable?

Illnesses spread easily from child-to-child at school and during play
Kids may not know to take the same health precautions as adults

What steps can we take?

Begin disaster planning now with your family. This includes stockpiling dry foods and having the appropriate containers for water storage (footnote book)
Teach healthy habits to your children including washing their hands often, covering their mouths when they cough, and avoiding hand-to-face contact.
Prepare children emotionally in the event of spending long periods of time confined in doors (under quarantine or voluntary isolation). This includes having family talks imagining what it would be like during these periods; coming up with fun activities for extended ‘rainy days’; stockpiling children’s favorite foods; and making sure games and indoor activities abound.
Meet with teachers and school officials to encourage them to participate in disaster planning and to make healthy habits an integral part of health programs.

In the 1990s, FEMA initiated a pilot study in seven American communities to help them become “disaster resistant.” This idea has taken hold and communities across the country are creating partnerships between local governments, private businesses and citizens to take the needed steps to mitigate the impacts of disasters. In Bird Flu What To Do: Prepare To Survive, I encourage the same principles, starting with the family and then extending to the neighborhood and community, including those who have limited access to resources. It’s a nuts and bolts, hands on, ‘what to’ book about disaster planning. As parents, we are first to understand the importance of joining together to create safety for our children. The safer we all are during and after a disaster, the safer we’ll all be.

By Verona Fonté, Ph.D.
(c) May be reprinted with the permission of the author

Dr. Verona Fonté worked as a psychologist for over 20 years in Berkeley, California. She served as a member of a trauma team with a division of the Department of Justice for 12 years, and has worked with victims of large-scale traumas in several capacities. Bird Flu What to Do: Prepare to Survive provides ordinary citizens with a comprehensive blueprint for disaster preparedness, with special attention given to the conditions that may be present in a bird flu pandemic.

It's about disaster planning in general,
with a special emphasis on what to do
if there's a pandemic.