Influenza Pandemic: Preparedness Planning and Response

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Influenza Pandemic
Introduction
Preparedness planning and response for an influenza pandemic entails balancing
fundamentally conflicting personal along with community concerns. In emergency cases, the
pleasure of the personal human rights along with civil freedoms can have been restricted in the
public concern. Therefore, in trying to balance the competing interests together with the values,
policymakers may draw on ethical standards as instruments for assessing competing interests, as
well as for reaching suitable decisions. The ethics do not offer a prescribed set of polices; rather,
ethical considerations would be influenced by the domestic background along with cultural
values. Thus, the principles of equity, freedom, reciprocity, as well as solidarity are particularly
important in the background of influenza pandemic preparedness planning (Bailey et al. 3112).
Influenza
Influenza (flu) is a contagious respiratory illness that is caused by flu, which affect throat,
nose, and in some instances the lungs. Influenza may cause mild to severe illness and sometimes
may result in death. Influenza is transmitted in two ways: person-to-person and environmental.
Person-to-person spread entails the virus moving from one individuals to other persons

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coughing, as well as sneezing, transmitting communicable droplets of respiratory discharge that
are breathed in through vulnerable people. Environmental spread may be direct or indirect
through contaminated surfaces spread through animals, or nuclei air droplets. In addition, flu
attacks starts when breathed in droplets of the flu virus are found in the discharge of the
respiratory strip. Thus, the spread frequency of the infection relies on diverse dynamics that
include overcrowding, virus endurance as well as transfer, situation of the setting, along with the
degree of susceptibility; that is, the immunity, age, season and smoking (Emanuel & Wertheimer
854).
Pandemic
Pandemic is an occurrence in a community or a given region of instances of a disease,
particular health-connected behavior or other health-connected occurrences apparently in the
surplus of usual expectation. Therefore, a pandemic is an endemic that occurs globally or across
the vast region transversing global borders, as well as impacts a huge populace. It is an epidemic
of an infectious disease like influenza or flu, which has spread across a vast region; for example
many continents or even globally.
Potential Influenza Pandemic and Population Health Risk
Influenza pandemic poses a grave health danger to the population around the world due
to its incidence is not predictable and the majority of the individuals cannot know the current
immunity to the novel virus strain resulting in the epidemic. The pace at which the 2009 H1N1
virus swell from Mexico to other parts of the world within the shortest time was unparalleled for
the illness considered mild. Nonetheless, it is apparent that the global transmission of the virus

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from one individual to another is easily promoted by commuter travel through air. Whilst
influenza pandemic may cause a huge percentage of disease, as well as death over a huge
geological area and in the shortest period, the unfavorable impacts along with the human
suffering (that include economic trouble)are probable to be faced disproportionately by
susceptible and “at risk” populace, especially in developing nations. Poor nations are at elevated
risk due to the restricted access to prevention along with the healing interventions besides huge
subpopulations are specifically prone during the flu epidemic due to their fundamental wellbeing
conditions (Gostin 566).
Key Stakeholders in Response Planning and Implementation
Government
The government plays a leading role in response planning and implementation of the
influenza pandemic through the government leadership. The government is the innate chief for
general harmonization along with communication endeavors. The government identifies, appoint
and guide the coordinating agencies for influenza pandemic awareness plus response; ratify or
change laws and policies that are needed to maximize plus sustain pandemic response planning
and implementation, capacity development along with response efforts across all sectors. The
government prioritizes, as well as guide the allotment along with targeting of resources to attain
the objectives as stated in the nation’s influenza pandemic awareness plan. Furthermore, the state
has the role of providing resources along with technical support to nations facing the spread of
influenza. Also, the government has the role of providing extra resources for nationwide
pandemic preparedness plus response and response interventions (Holmberg &Lundgren 423).