Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
First, all canadian companies should test their emergency plans. the canadian
Manufacturers and exporters (cMe) have assisted various corporations in
formulating such plans to respond to an influenza pandemic. They produced an
impressive 20-point checklist, including identifying a manager responsible for the
pandemic plan, determining the pandemic's financial impact, building confidence
among employees, preparing for an absenteeism rate of 35 percent to 50 percent
during a two-week peak period, and appealing to all companies to test and share their
plans with the government (cMe 2006). However, the number of companies that
have shared their influenza pandemic plans with the local governments is unknown.
In a sudden influenza crisis, the impact on Canadian business would perhaps be much
larger if there were no simulation exercise with regard to the influenza pandemic
plan prepared by various companies.
Second, governmental communication with poultry workers and farmers must
be enhanced. they have already been alerted to the likelihood of the outbreak of
avian influenza. The chicken Farmers of ontario vowed to try its best to prevent
the spread of any avian influenza from farms to the community. During an avian
influenza pandemic, it would be critical to know how to separate locally produced
poultry from imported poultry. If the local farms were safeguarded against the
crisis, the extent to which they could continue to supply food would need constant
assessment, necessitating a partnership between agricultural and health officials on
the one hand and farmers on the other.
Third, in the event of an influenza pandemic, it is unclear how pets would be
managed at the provincial and municipal levels. Ideally, pets would have to
be segregated to prevent human beings from being infected more easily. Yet such
segregation would arouse the opposition of pet owners. a moderate solution is to
encourage them to have their pets undergo voluntary quarantine and medical check-
ups. During the peak of an influenza pandemic, tougher measures may have to
be considered. any emergency regulation by the federal government to deal with
an influenza pandemic must incorporate pet management so that provincial and
territorial governments would be legally empowered to act as needed.
Fourth, it is estimated that there are 200 000 illegal immigrants in canada (Keung
2006). their fate and possible access to health care would become critical issues
in the event of the influenza pandemic, because they tend to be afraid of visiting
the doctors for fear of being deported. Yet urgent medical care would have to be
provided to this underground population, who would be required to register with the
authorities. a partial amnesty may be required; otherwise, illegal immigrants without
access to healthcare services would become an extremely vulnerable segment of the
society. the federal government must collaborate with the provincial governments
on the future of illegal immigrants, whose susceptibility to an influenza outbreak
would directly or indirectly affect the death toll in canada.
Fifth, during the high tide of an influenza pandemic, Canadian citizens residing
overseas who return to canada may have to be segregated into camps remote from
urban communities. the idea is not to discriminate against them, but to provide
safeguards against the likelihood of any returnees who may be infected with the
