Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan

The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan maps out how Canada will prepare for and respond to an influenza pandemic. Federal, provincial and territorial governments collaborated on its development.

The Canadian Pandemic Influenza Plan is designed for:

• federal, provincial and territorial departments of health
• emergency workers,
• public health officials, and
• health care workers

The plan includes guidelines and checklists that these groups can use in emergency response planning and creates a framework that guides the actions of all levels of government in the event of an influenza pandemic.

The plan covers the following activities:

• Prevention activities, such as surveillance programs and the establishment of an infrastructure for manufacturing sufficient vaccines to protect all Canadians at the time of a pandemic.
• Preparedness activities, include the preparation of actual plans for a pandemic. The preparedness section addresses key activity areas, such as vaccine programs, surveillance and public health measures in terms of their current status and future requirements.
• Response/Implementation activities for controlling the pandemic, minimizing deaths and any social disruption it causes, including communication activities. Implementation also involves documenting the current activities and outcomes to determine if any changes need to be made to the response.

The plan describes the different phases of a pandemic and the roles and responsibilities for each level of government at each phase. The phases described in Canada's plan are based on the World Health Organization's pandemic phases. These phases are helpful for planning concrete steps under key activity areas for each phase. When put together, the phases provide guidance on what needs to be done as a pandemic unfolds.

Current WHO phase of pandemic alert

The plan also includes a series of annexes that offer detailed guidance on specific areas such as infection control, clinical guidelines and communications. The annexes cover the following topics:

Laboratory Procedures
Describes laboratory testing, surveillance, data collection and the importance of sharing this surveillance data for each pandemic phase as well as co-operative agreements for emergency back-up of critical lab functions. Surveillance in Canada and abroad is essential for giving early warning signs of new influenza strains.

Recommendations for Pandemic Vaccine Use in a Limited Supply Situation
Provides technical information about the potential dose and administration of a pandemic influenza vaccine. This annex describes the priority groups for vaccination during a pandemic. The priority list would continually be reviewed during a pandemic and adjusted based on how the new influenza virus behaves.

Planning Recommendations for the use of Antiviral Drugs in Canada during a Pandemic
Details technical information on the two types of antiviral drugs known to be effective against influenza A viruses and how these drugs could be used in a pandemic. Like the vaccine annex, it identifies priority groups for the receipt of antiviral drugs if supplies are limited. Again, the priority list would be reviewed depending on the behaviour of the new influenza virus.

Infection Control and Occupational Health Guidelines During Pandemic Influenza in Traditional and Non-Traditional Health Care Settings
Offers guidelines designed to assist those responsible for managing pandemic influenza in traditional (e.g., acute care hospitals, nursing homes, walk in clinics) and non-traditional (e.g., triage settings, temporary influenza hospitals) health care settings. It details infection prevention and control policies and procedures that will be critical to minimize the spread of pandemic influenza within health care settings.

Health Services: Clinical Care Guidelines and Tools
It is important to remember that most physicians will not have seen pandemic influenza. This annex gives them guidance on what to look for and how to care for patients. It highlights the clinical presentations of influenza and provides guidelines on patient management.

Resource Management Guidelines for Health Care Facilities during an Influenza Pandemic
Provides guidelines for health care providers in planning the management of resources in health care facilities and the identification of additional human resources that would be required for the different phases of a pandemic.

Guidelines for Non-Traditional Sites & Workers
A non-traditional site is a site that is currently not a health care site or is a health care site that usually offers a different type or level of care. In a pandemic, a non-traditional site could provide care and support of influenza patients. This annex offers guidelines on how to establish, operate and manage these non-traditional sites.

Communications Annex
The objective of the Communication Annex is to ensure that Canada's health partners are prepared to respond to the enormous public communications challenges associated with an influenza pandemic. It sets out specific activities designed to promote consistent, coordinated and effective public communications of federal, provincial, territorial governments and other health partners.

Federal Emergency Planning Documents
This annex describes Health Canada's emergency response structure. The structure includes five groups responsible for identifying and working on the major steps for responding to an emergency:

• Coordination and Operations Group: initiates operations and manages the administrative and communications functions of the emergency response;
• Logistics and Support Group: provides security and logistics for supplies, equipment, and transportation;
• Emergency Communications Group: advises and provides media monitoring and leads public communication;
• Technical Advisory Group: develops and analyses scientific and medical information related to the event; and
• Advance Planning Group: provides risk management and looks ahead to identify issues that could emerge.