Avian flu issues lead to queries by retailers
Avian flu issues lead to queries by retailers
The Avian flu has been in the headlines for months with talks of a pandemic and questions about the preparedness of the United States for an outbreak. In fact, federal and state health officials throughout the country have issued warnings advising that companies and local officials develop and have ready a preparedness plan.
This in turn has led to many companies around the country asking their suppliers if they have a plan in place. Numerous produce shippers have received letters from retailers asking for a copy of their plan.
As such, Western Growers Association is currently putting together a webinar to "dispel the myths and answer the questions" that are arising from the queries, according to Hank Giclas, vice president of strategic planning, science and technology for the association. "We are currently lining up presenters. I expect that we will hold the webinar prior to June 15." Mr. Giclas said that both WGA members and non-members will be able to participate.
He added that he is not an expert on the subject but is in the process of ramping up his knowledge base and has learned that there are many myths surrounding this issue. He cited the web site pandemicflu.gov as a good source for a quick review of the issues. The WGA executive said that there are many issues that need to be dealt with when discussing the Avian flu and the potential for it to turn into a pandemic. In the first place, he said that there is no evidence that Avian flu can be spread through the food supply, so there is virtually no risk that fresh fruits and vegetables could be carriers of the influenza. "Some retailers may have expressed a concern about that, but I think they are more concerned about the ability of their suppliers to continue to supply them with product if a pandemic does occur."
Mr. Giclas said that retailers are concerned about the disruption in supplies if a particular company's work force is hit hard by the flu. How will a company operate if, for example, half its work force cannot work?
The U.S. government has asked industry the same thing. What happens if there is a pandemic and thousands or millions of people die or are too sick to go to work? Will there be economic chaos?
Mr. Giclas said that these are the types of questions that he hopes to have answered during the WGA sponsored webinar. "I think we will spend about one-third of the time explaining what the Avian flu is and dispelling some myths about it. And we will spend two-thirds of the time talking about the development of a preparedness action plan, which each company should have in place."
Most of the current literature seems to acknowledge the possibility of a pandemic arising from the Avian flu but place its risk in the United States as very low. Apparently, bird influenza is fairly common, but rarely is it transmitted from bird to human. Worldwide, there have been about 250 confirmed cases of Avian flu (H5N1 strain) in humans, 57 percent of those resulting in death. In almost all the cases, the person contracting the flu had handled infected birds. There are some confirmed cases of that strain of influenza traveling from human to human, but there has yet to be a confirmed case of human to human to human infection. For a pandemic to occur, an influenza strain must be easily passed from one human to another and then on and on.
However, there is no known vaccine, and a vaccine typically cannot be developed until the exact strain causing the outbreak is identified.
The worst pandemic in the world occurred in 1918-19 when 675,000 people in the United States and 50 million people around the world died of the flu. In 1967-69, a flu pandemic killed 70,000 people in the United States and as many as 2 million worldwide. The flu last pandemic occurred in 1968-69 when 34,000 died in the United States and 700,000 worldwide.
This in turn has led to many companies around the country asking their suppliers if they have a plan in place. Numerous produce shippers have received letters from retailers asking for a copy of their plan.
As such, Western Growers Association is currently putting together a webinar to "dispel the myths and answer the questions" that are arising from the queries, according to Hank Giclas, vice president of strategic planning, science and technology for the association. "We are currently lining up presenters. I expect that we will hold the webinar prior to June 15." Mr. Giclas said that both WGA members and non-members will be able to participate.
He added that he is not an expert on the subject but is in the process of ramping up his knowledge base and has learned that there are many myths surrounding this issue. He cited the web site pandemicflu.gov as a good source for a quick review of the issues. The WGA executive said that there are many issues that need to be dealt with when discussing the Avian flu and the potential for it to turn into a pandemic. In the first place, he said that there is no evidence that Avian flu can be spread through the food supply, so there is virtually no risk that fresh fruits and vegetables could be carriers of the influenza. "Some retailers may have expressed a concern about that, but I think they are more concerned about the ability of their suppliers to continue to supply them with product if a pandemic does occur."
Mr. Giclas said that retailers are concerned about the disruption in supplies if a particular company's work force is hit hard by the flu. How will a company operate if, for example, half its work force cannot work?
The U.S. government has asked industry the same thing. What happens if there is a pandemic and thousands or millions of people die or are too sick to go to work? Will there be economic chaos?
Mr. Giclas said that these are the types of questions that he hopes to have answered during the WGA sponsored webinar. "I think we will spend about one-third of the time explaining what the Avian flu is and dispelling some myths about it. And we will spend two-thirds of the time talking about the development of a preparedness action plan, which each company should have in place."
Most of the current literature seems to acknowledge the possibility of a pandemic arising from the Avian flu but place its risk in the United States as very low. Apparently, bird influenza is fairly common, but rarely is it transmitted from bird to human. Worldwide, there have been about 250 confirmed cases of Avian flu (H5N1 strain) in humans, 57 percent of those resulting in death. In almost all the cases, the person contracting the flu had handled infected birds. There are some confirmed cases of that strain of influenza traveling from human to human, but there has yet to be a confirmed case of human to human to human infection. For a pandemic to occur, an influenza strain must be easily passed from one human to another and then on and on.
However, there is no known vaccine, and a vaccine typically cannot be developed until the exact strain causing the outbreak is identified.
The worst pandemic in the world occurred in 1918-19 when 675,000 people in the United States and 50 million people around the world died of the flu. In 1967-69, a flu pandemic killed 70,000 people in the United States and as many as 2 million worldwide. The flu last pandemic occurred in 1968-69 when 34,000 died in the United States and 700,000 worldwide.
