Pandemic Preparedness - Ansell Healthcare

The human swine flu outbreak continues to grow in the United States and Internationally.

The CDC has reported cases of confirmed swine influenza and a number of hospitalizations of swine flu patients. Internationally, the situation is more serious, with additional countries reporting confirmed cases of swine flu. In response to the intensifying outbreak, the World Health Organization raised the worldwide pandemic alert to level 4. A Phase 4 alert is characterized by confirmed person-to-person spread of a new influenza virus able to cause "community-level outbreaks." The increase in the pandemic alert phase indicates that the likelihood of a pandemic has increased.

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses that causes regular outbreaks in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Swine flu viruses have been reported to spread from person-to-person, but in the past, this transmission was limited and not sustained beyond three people.

In late March and early April 2009, cases of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) viruses were first reported in Southern California and near San Antonio, Texas. Other U.S. states have reported cases of swine flu infection in humans and cases have been reported internationally as well.

This letter spells out steps taken by Ansell Healthcare to prepare for a potential pandemic.

In March 2006, Ansell Healthcare issued recommendations for healthcare professionals wishing to protect themselves against contracting avian influenza, the H5N1 virus, as well as for workers handling potentially contaminated birds or bird products. The company called upon experts from the international AnsellCares program to contribute to the recommendations.

The recommendations follow the CDC and World Health organisation's recommendations for selecting personal protective equipment in each type of situation. The human swine flu outbreak falls under this same situation in regards to selecting personal protective equipment.

Ansell is actively monitoring this situation. Ansell recognizes its important role as a supplier of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and is committed to supporting the needs of our customers in a timely and efficient manner. In the case of a pandemic event such as the swine influenza, there is likely to be a significant increase in demand for certain types of PPE, with demand potentially outstripping supply where appropriate product stocks have not been established.

Here is a list of the most frequently asked questions (FAQ's) we have received on this subject. If the FAQ's do not answer your specific question, we encourage you to contact your Ansell account manager.