May 9, 2007

Pandemic Survival Roadshow opens in Canterbury

Canterbury’s health and emergency management organisations are working together to educate communities in the region about the need to prepare for a pandemic influenza.

The Pandemic Survival Roadshow, built by Science Alive, is a hands-on community education programme geared towards educating and encouraging residents of Canterbury to be prepared for a widespread influenza outbreak.

The Canterbury District Health Board, South Canterbury District Health Board, Community and Public Health, Canterbury Civil Defence and Emergency Management Group, Environment Canterbury, territorial authorities, Science Alive, and Red Cross have worked together to create the roadshow. Officials from those organisations felt it was important to work together to deliver the message.

“Initially, there was quite a bit of attention paid to the bird flu in the media, and that interest has since died down. However, both the health and emergency management sectors are still very much concerned about a pandemic and we need the public to be prepared,” said Dr. Alistair Humphrey, Medical Officer of Health for Canterbury.

While vaccination remains important to prevent seasonal influenza, vaccination for a rapidly emerging pandemic is still not a realistic option, despite increased research into this area. Cough etiquette, hand hygiene, isolation, reducing germs, and preparation remain the most important ways of surviving a pandemic. The main focus of the roadshow is individual preparedness, household preparedness, and building community resilience, Dr. Humphrey said.

Dr. Geoffrey Rice, author of Black November, a book about the 1918 flu, notes that many people believe that we are better off than in 1918, when more than 8,000 New Zealanders died from that flu pandemic. “While medically we may be more advanced, our communities are not as strong as they were in 1918. In 1918, people knew their neighbours and had strong community structures to help each other survive. Unfortunately, that isn’t the same for many people living in New Zealand today,” said Dr Rice.

The roadshow was created to help communities come together and discuss their plans for coping with a pandemic. Community and other groups are invited to book times to have a guided tour of the roadshow with their local councils. The calendar for the roadshow, which is set to travel throughout Canterbury, is located at www.pandemicroadshow.org.nz. School tours will be available in 2008 for most districts.

The Pandemic Survival Roadshow opens next Tuesday, May 15, in North Canterbury’s Waikari Hall at 10:30 am. Waikari was chosen as an ideal site because it has one of only two 1918 memorial statues in the nation. The statue is of Dr. Charles Little, who succumbed to the flu after working diligently treating patients throughout Hurunui district.

ENDS

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