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Polio network helps respond to potential flu pandemic |
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Written by Stephen Sypula
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 The technical network of the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI) is actively helping support the global response to the potential pandemic of H1N1 influenza.
30 April 2009 - With a network of technical staff and associated transportation, communications and data management capacity in more than 70 countries, the GPEI network has in the past helped identify and respond to outbreaks due to avian influenza, SARS, meningitis, Marburg fever, Ebola, cholera and other serious infectious diseases.
In response to the potential pandemic of H1N1 influenza, polio technical staff have been alerted to the need to incorporate searching for clusters of influenza-like cases into their surveillance activities. This is particularly crucial in many high-population countries and countries with weak health infrastructures in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where the bulk of the polio staff are based, and from where no confirmed H1N1 cases have so far been reported. With local knowledge of communities, health systems, and government structures in these countries, the polio network can help make a difference in the globally coordinated response efforts.
Source: The Global Polio Eradication Initiative
For the latest information and travel advise regarding Swine Flue see the WHO site
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 27 May 2009 )
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