CDC is dropping the ball

The foci of many of the U.S. cases have been summer camps and military installations, where young people gather in close proximity. "This has been a challenging summer for camps, with a lot of outbreaks (and closures)," she said. There have been many media reports of summer camps urging children to bring the antiviral drug Tamiflu and take it prophylactically, and that has concerned the CDC because such widespread use could lead to increased resistance to the drug, which is the first line of defense in treating infected people.

In cases where the agency has investigated, however, it has been unable to confirm such reports. The agency's current recommendations are that the drug be used only for treating infected patients and for prophylaxis of high-risk people who are in close contact with flu patients.

Good one, oramar! Do you suppose that they checked out this camp in Belgrade, Maine where our famous Dr. Siegel's kid goes every summer? Of course, they wouldn't use it unless they had at least one camper already sick with flu, then they can blanket the whole camp just like they do in Indonesian villages against bird flu. The Tamiflu Blanket is alive and well at summer camp.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32099666/ns/health-the_new_york_times

Prophylactic Tamiflu

Camp Modin brought the outbreak to a dead halt by offering prophylactic Tamiflu to all of the campers and counselors, a move it took on the advice of one of the parents, Dr. Marc Siegel.

"Tamiflu is used prophylactically in nursing homes quite successfully," said Dr. Siegel, an associate professor of medicine at N.Y.U. Langone Medical Center. "And I think when there's a big outbreak in summer camp, where kids live very close together in their bunks, it makes sense to follow to follow the same protocol."

Almost 300 campers and 100 staff members went on prophylactic Tamiflu for 10 days, Mr. Salzberg said, and the H1N1 virus stopped spreading.

After hearing of the results at Camp Modin, several other Maine camps encouraged parents to approve the prophylactic use of Tamiflu.

It is to late. Too late to buy more vents, too late to train nurses to use them. It is to late to plan to set up emergency flu centers to steer people away from emergency rooms so that auto accidents and people with heart attacks can still use them. To late to call in older retired nurses and docs who are more than likely somewhat immune so they can shore up the staffing when it is very short due to ill HCW. When the recriminations and the excuses start I am going to turn off the TV and toss my newspaper in the garbage because I won't feel like listening. I will continue to check in here to this thread however.

amen - I predict we will have a lot of cases this winter.