A Little Bird Named Enza

Abstract

In his column, AWWA Executive Director Jack Hoffbuhr discusses pandemics, beginning with the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. He describes how the virus originated in wild birds and eventually mutated to become infectious to humans. He links the Spanish Flu to the current new strain of bird flu through epidemiological and laboratory evidence that indicates that the new strain is related to the Spanish Flu, though it is not moving globally as quickly as feared at first. However, he does urge utilities to create pandemic response plans to deal with the high absenteeism rate when the flu does hit, which is definitely coming. Hoffbuhr urges utility managers to discuss plans with local health department officials and use resources that are available from AWWA, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and others.