Some 46.2 percent of Maryland public health workers say they likely would not report for work if there were a pandemic flu outbreak, a study concludes.
Those who would stay home rather than report to their public health jobs are primarily clerical and support staff members who do not consider their roles crucial in fighting a flu outbreak, the study by John Hopkins and Ben-Gurion universities concludes.
"The people who answer the telephones are on the front lines of risk communication," study co-author Daniel Barnett told USA Today.
Health officials need to make it clear that all employees would be needed during such a public crisis, researchers said.
The study of 308 public health workers in Maryland will be expanded to other areas of the United States, the team said.
The study was published in the online journal BMC Public Health.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
Waterborne disease risk upped in Great Lakes
An anticipated increased incidence of climate-related extreme rainfall events in the Great Lakes region may raise the public health risk for the 40 million people who depend on the lakes for their drinking water, according to a new study.
Rethinking who should be considered 'essential' during a pandemic flu outbreak
Not only are doctors, nurses, and firefighters essential during a severe pandemic influenza outbreak. So, too, are truck drivers, communications personnel, and utility workers. That's the conclusion of a Johns Hopkins University article to be published in the journal of
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism. The report, led by Nancy Kass, Sc.D, Deputy Director of Public Health for the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics, provides ethical guidance for pandemic planning that ensures a skeletal infrastructure remain intact at all times. Dr. Kass says, "when preparing for a severe pandemic flu it is crucial for leaders to recognize that if the public has limited or no access to food, water, sewage systems, fuel and communications, the secondary consequences may cause greater sickness death and social breakdown than the virus itself."
FDA says changes coming in wake of critical report
(AP) -- The nation's fresh produce would be safer if U.S. farmers were required to adopt strict standards for growing leafy greens similar to industry-written ones devised for California growers, a Food and Drug Administration official said Friday.
Best way to treat malaria: Avoid using same drug for everyone, scientists say
(PhysOrg.com) -- A team of scientists employing a sophisticated computer model pioneered at Princeton University and Resources for the Future has found that many governments worldwide are recommending the wrong kind of malaria treatment.
Sandwich meats kill 15 in Canada
The death toll from contaminated deli meats in Canada has risen to 15, health officials said Wednesday, including an elderly woman who is said to have suffered terribly.
How does bluetongue virus survive through the winter?
In 2006, Bluetongue virus – which infects livestock – reached Northern Europe for the first time. Some people thought that the outbreak would be limited to that particular year, as winter was expected to kill off the midges that host and spread the disease, bringing the threat of infection to an end. In actuality, the disease escalated in the following year, spreading to the UK. So, how did the virus survive the winter?
Tainted deli meats in Canada kill 12
The death toll from an outbreak linked to contaminated deli meats in Canada rose to 12 Monday, with several other people sickened, health officials said.
Source of Canadian listeria outbreak confirmed
Canadian authorities have confirmed a link between a listeria food poisoning outbreak that killed four people and products from Toronto food processor Maple Leaf Foods.