Sweden lays contingency plan in case of flu pandemic

[Stockholm]

Bird flu scares! Like the definition of "society´s most important groups" though.

STOCKHOLM, Feb 15 (AFP) - Swedish health authorities on Tuesday presented a contingency plan in case the Scandinavian country is hit with a flu pandemic, suggesting that enough antiviral drugs be stored for at least society's most important groups.
"If new variations of the (flu) virus lead to a world epidemic, a so-called pandemic, the effects on society could be dramatic," " Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare said in the plan, which it presented to the government.

"It is therefore important that there be good preparedness to launch the actions needed to limit the spread of the illness in the population," it said.
The body has been working on its contingency plan for many months, and it was not originally linked to the growing fear that so-called "bird flu" could turn into a global epidemic.

"We think that there is quite a large risk that there will be a pandemic at some point, but we don't know when ... whether or not the bird flu will turn into a pandemic is just impossible to say," Anders Tegnell, a physician, epidemiologist and co-author of the plan, told AFP.

snip

Among the groups considered most important to society are workers in the healthcare and emergency service sectors, in utility delivery and garbage collection, according to the Board of Health.
In addition to ensuring that these groups continue to function, Sweden needs to create a crisis response team to get word out to the country's more than nine million inhabitants, Tegnell said, adding that such a team could probably be created within a few months.

http://www.sweden.se/templates/cs/AFPNews____2078.aspx?newsid=//www.nobicon.se/afp_si.nsf/js.latest/AA3998BE1F50248CC1256FA9005EADDB

[rodeodance]

1. Their thinking is from a Public Health viewpoint--not a terrorist only

viewpoint, which I think the US policy has--as the focus has been on the small pox only--as far as I can tell.

.....Among the groups considered most important to society are workers in the healthcare and emergency service sectors, in utility delivery and garbage collection, according to the Board of Health.

In addition to ensuring that these groups continue to function, Sweden needs to create a crisis response team to get word out to the country's more than nine million inhabitants, Tegnell said, adding that such a team could probably be created within a few months......

[Amfortas]

2. what's the USA doing?

How are they preparing ?
this seems more dangerous than saddams WMD's !