National pandemic planning must be an ongoing process

Abstract

Influenza pandemic plans are in place or in development in a number of countries worldwide. In the absence of public health emergencies, little consideration has been given to how to test pandemic preparedness. New Zealand has prepared a pandemic plan, following the WHO pandemic planning guidelines. It aims to facilitate a coordinated and effective national response to an influenza pandemic alert and provides specific advice to assist District Health Boards (DHBs), Public Health Units (PHUs) and other agencies with the preparation of their contingency arrangements. To evaluate the plan and the preparedness of New Zealand's healthcare workforce, a month-long desktop pandemic simulation exercise was carried out. Exercise “Virex” involved the Ministry of Health, National Pandemic Planning Committee, all DHBs and PHUs. A hypothetical scenario was developed, and participants received information as the pandemic evolved. In response to the WHO declaring a Global Pneumonia Alert, New Zealand activated its pandemic action plan. The lessons learned from Exercise “Virex” highlighted the impact on services and the need for central leadership and resulted in the updating of the pandemic action plan. The experience with SARS has highlighted the flexibility of the pandemic action plan to other emerging public health threats and has lead to a strengthening of the planning process.