Communication Role Of Media And Swine Flu H1n1 2009 Pandemic.

Communication Role of media and Swine flu H1N1 2009 Pandemic. Dr.Kedar Karki Swine flu is caused by a strain of influenza type A virus (H1N1) and can be passed from person to person through the same way as the flu. The main mode of transmission is through the coughs or sneezes of an infected person. Infected droplets are released into the air and anyone within 2 meters of the droplet can become infected by breathing in the air. Generally, only those within two meters could be infected because the droplets do not remain in the air for long. It is also possible to get the influenza by touching contaminated surfaces and then touching your nose, mouth or eyes. Signs and symptoms of swine flu are similar to those of flu and can include; fever, cough sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, chills, and fatigue, while some people may experience diarrhea and vomiting. On the other hand, people may have the virus for up to 3 days and still not show any of the signs and symptoms of swine flu. It is also during this time that they could transmit the virus without realizing it and that is one of the reasons personal hygiene is highly recommended. Those who are at a higher risk of getting very sick if contracting the swine flu are very young children, those with other long term medical conditions, pregnant women and older people. The best way to prevent the spread of swine flu is by practicing good personal hygiene. Informing people about the need for personal hygiene should be done on a daily basis. The message should also be delivered in schools and churches to ensure that children and youth are reminded of the importance of personal hygiene. This message should include the importance of practicing cough etiquette, that is, when we cough, we cover our mouth; if we use tissues papers when coughing, we need to throw them in the rubbish bin; we need to wash our hands with soup and water and dry them thoroughly. People should also avoid touching their nose, mouth or eyes. The other important personal hygiene issue that needs addressing is the unhygienic habits of spitting in public (including betel nut sputum), sharing of tobacco, cigarette, for betel nut chewing. It is paramount that we get the message across that these habits are not only unhygienic and unacceptable but they could spread swine flu quite easily. It is time that we embark on a proactive campaign that would include mass media, education and promotion programs to try and discourage these unhygienic habits. For example, betel nut chewing can be portrayed as unattractive, unhygienic and unhealthy. Health officials could look at developing policies to reduce or eliminate spitting of betel nut in public places and maybe looking at legislation to restrict 1

where it can be chewed, similarly to smoking in public places. There should be an immediate, medium and long-term strategy on how we counter this issue bearing in mind the individual and our countries overall economical issues. With the low number of suspected cases, other containment strategies should be used to contain and minimize the spread of the swine flu. With such a scenario in place, appropriate containment strategy should be activated to ensure that those people traveling on the same flight as this person and those people coming into contact with this person are being tracked down and maybe quarantined if necessary. Quarantine and isolation are often used interchangeably. People should understand that quarantine is used when we restrict the movement of healthy person(s) who have been exposed to a suspected or confirmed case of infection. Isolation on the other hand, is the separation of infected person(s) (that is both suspected and confirmed) over the period of time that they can easily spread the disease (period of communicability) in such places under such conditions. Both with the intention to prevent or limit further spread of the infectious disease. The concept of quarantining healthy people is neither new nor untried. Past experiences have shown that maritime quarantine was effective in the 1918 pandemic whereas land quarantine was much less effective. In 2003 SARS epidemic, quarantine used in conjunction with other public health interventions such as increased personal hygiene and personal protective equipment (PPE) successfully contained a widespread outbreak. An important point about the SARS experience is that quarantine does not have to be absolute or complete to be effective. However, SARS is an easier disease to contain because unlike influenza it is not infectious until it is symptomatic. Communication is an important aspect of containing and managing an influenza pandemic. Often, responsible authorities face the dilemma of when to communicate, what to communicate, who to give out information and how to communicate information to our people when we face such issues. There are schools of thought on the various component of the communication strategy during management of imminent crisis but it is important that we make appropriate decisions bearing in mind the level of anxiety and perceptions of our people. There are mixed opinion about this but now is the time to inform our people of the imminent threat of a widespread outbreak, what things we have in place, our health services capabilities, how to access certain services and so forth& dash; our responsible authorities are currently doing this in a timely manner. It is not good for us to hide such information because it will only fuel anxiety, fear and panic. The frequency of information dissemination and update is also crucial. Now that we have a suspected case of swine flu, updated information to the 2

public should be delivered daily especially when our communities seem to have a high level of fear and anxiety. What we should bear in mind is that in this sort of situation people expect to know the truth, for instance if there are suspected or confirmed cases, people need to know the extent of the spread of possible swine flu and what measures have been taken to track those who have been in close contact with the suspected or confirmed cases. By clearly understanding the extent of situation and what to do in a crisis before a crisis hits will improve people’s ability to cope and act appropriately, thus increasing the probability of having successful outcomes from our management. It is imperative that authorities do not give conflicting information to the public as this would indicate panic, uncertainty and incapability on their part to managing an imminent national crisis. In turn, it would increase the level of panic, fear and anxiety in the community. Message coming from an authoritative figure is required to decrease panic. From past SARS experience in other countries, people are more likely to trust information coming from doctors then from those involved in politics or high levels of our health system. This is because people perceive this information to lack transparency about who is making the decision and a view that politics could be involved in some public health decisions. Moreover, people already have this perception that governments have not been forthcoming in many issues of national interest that have affected their lives. Therefore, it is imperative that we have an authoritative figure that could be trusted to provide continuous updated information to our people. We should use all means of communication as possible, not only radio, newspaper and printed handouts but also health workers, religious places, youth gatherings and community involvement. The media has an important role in assisting the health authorities in informing people of the influenza. It is evident that media sometimes will fill a news story void with rumor and anecdote if substantive material is unavailable. It is vital that the media is given timely, accurate and precise information to minimize news voids being filled with rumors. It is also the responsibility of the media to report accurately so as not be seen as scare mongering. Currently there are two antiviral drugs that are available to be used and given to people. They are Tamiflu and Relenza. Conclusion There is a need for us to continuously reviewing our management strategies, not only presently but maybe after the swine flu pandemic is over in order for us to be better prepared if a severe pandemic was to happen in the future. One way to improving our strategy is to engage our community and their views on the implementation of the plan. Furthermore, views of health workers and those that would be in 3

the frontline should also be sort and included in the planning process to ensure that there is effective communication and staged implementation of public health measures in the event of a more severe pandemic influenza.

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