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A total of 69 countries, including Canada, Spain, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, had outbreaks of novel influenza A (H1N1) commonly known as “swine flu” in 2009. This new virus was first detected in people in Mexico and the United States in April 2009, and it may have been circulating in Mexico for some weeks before that. The new influenza A (H1N1) can spread from person-to-person, probably in much the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread. The new influenza A (H1N1) has developed from the re-assortment of a number of other influenza viruses.
Community and Public Health has specific responsibilities under legislation to reduce the public health risk that may arise as a result of a public health emergency such as a pandemic of influenza by providing an operational response. The goal of which is to reduce the morbidity and mortality of a future influenza pandemic in the Canterbury, South Canterbury and West Coast regions. The following specific operational functions are carried out by Community and Public Health staff:
- Plan For It - Planning to reduce the health, social and economic impact of pandemic influenza on NZ
- Keep It Out - Border Management to prevent or delay the arrival of pandemic influenza into NZ
- Stamp It Out - Cluster Control to control and/or eliminate any clusters that may be found in NZ
- Manage It - Pandemic management to reduce the impact of pandemic influenza on NZ's population
- Recover From It - To expedite the recovery of the population to normal services
Find out more about Community and Public Health's emergency response to pandemics and other events such as natural disasters.
Documents
Downloads
Order copies from the Community Health Information Centre
Links
Pandemic Planning and Response (Ministry of Health)
Pandemic Influenza (CDHB)
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Influenza H1N1 2009 in Canterbury: a case study in pandemic response co-ordination
This article has been published in the Journal of Primary Health Care (December 2010) about the Canterbury response to the 2009 H1N1 (Swine Flu) pandemic, which Community and Public Health staff were involved in.
The aim of this paper is to describe the strategies developed by range of Canterbury agencies to work together in a co-ordinated health-led response with the goal of minimising the impact of H1N1 09 in the community and maintaining effective health care services for both influenza and non-influenza patients.
Read this article in the Journal of Primary Health Care.
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