Information for First Responders
The information provided in the following pages is a collaborative effort that provides important information on pandemic planning and preparedness.
This section includes key information you should know about pandemic preparedness, including: Infection Control; Personal Protective Equipment; Antivirals and Vaccines, the Role of Federal, Provincial and Local Agencies, Educational Resources and Tools. This information is important to your health and safety and that of the public.
Please contact EmergencyManagement@moh.gov.on.ca to share your comments and suggestions on information and content.
What First Responders Should Know About an Influenza Pandemic
What is a pandemic and how does a flu pandemic start?
A pandemic is distinguished by its scope. A disease becomes a worldwide epidemic, or pandemic, when it spreads easily and rapidly through many countries and regions of the world and affects a large percentage of the population where it spreads.
A flu pandemic starts when a new strain of flu virus emerges that is different from common strains of flu. Because people have no immunity to the new virus, it can spread quickly and infect hundreds of thousands of people. Pandemic flu strains often develop when an animal or bird virus mixes with a human virus to form a new and different human virus.
What will happen if an influenza pandemic hits Ontario?
Once an influenza pandemic virus arrives in Ontario, it will likely spread quickly. Many people will become ill and there will be a lot of pressure on our health care services.
Depending on how widespread the flu pandemic is, our daily routines may be disrupted. For example, companies may have to close down some of their operations. Cities may decide to provide essential services only. Public health officials may cancel public gatherings, such as concerts and sporting events, where the influenza virus can spread easily. They may also close schools. We cannot predict just how Ontario will be affected until we know how strong the virus is.
What are the symptoms of a pandemic influenza?
In general influenza viruses in humans produce fever and respiratory symptoms. Often the person feels very tired and has muscle aches. Occasionally it may progress to pneumonia. While vomiting, abdominal pain and diarrhoea may sometimes occur, the expression “stomach flu” is not caused by influenza virus.
What is the difference between seasonal and pandemic influenza?
The following chart details the differences between seasonal and pandemic influenza :
| ORDINARY FLU | PANDEMIC FLU |
| Ordinary flu happens every year. | Pandemic flu happens only two or three times a century. |
| Ordinary flu is usually around from November to April – and then stops. | Pandemic flu usually comes in two or three waves several months apart. Each wave lasts about two to three months. |
| About 10% of Ontarians get ordinary flu each year. | About 35% of Ontarians may get pandemic flu over the course of an outbreak. |
| Most people who get ordinary flu will get sick, but they usually recover within a couple of weeks. | About half of the people who get pandemic flu will become ill. Most will recover, but it may take a long time. And some people will die. |
| Ordinary flu is hardest on people who don't have a strong immune system : the very young, the very old, and people with certain chronic illnesses. | People of any age may become seriously ill with pandemic flu, depending on the virus. |
| In a normal flu season, up to 2,000 Ontarians die of complications from the flu, such as pneumonia. | During a flu pandemic, Ontario would see many more people infected and possibly many more deaths. |
| There are annual flu shots that will protect people from ordinary flu. | There is no existing vaccine for pandemic flu. It will take four to five months after the pandemic starts to develop a vaccine. |
| There are drugs that people can take to treat ordinary flu. | These same drugs may also help people with pandemic flu but we may not have a large enough supply for everyone and we will not know their effectiveness
until the virus is identified. |
When will there be a treatment for pandemic influenza?
There are drugs known as antivirals that can treat a pandemic influenza. To be effective, people have to start taking them within 48 hours of symptoms appearing.
When will there be a vaccine for pandemic influenza?
World experts agree that it will take four to six months to develop a vaccine once the particular virus causing the pandemic has been identified. Canada is one of the few countries that will be able to produce the vaccine within its own borders.
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