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PLANNING FOR PANDEMIC INFLUENZA FATALITIES Local authorities are currently planning how to manage an increase in natural deaths due to a pandemic influenza event in the Commonwealth of Virginia.  It is an undeniable fact that if a pandemic were to arrive, citizens will succumb to the disease or related secondary causes.  Local medical facilities, first responders, funeral directors, and many others need to prepare for managing the possibly high numbers of additional deaths during a pandemic.  The Managing Pandemic Influenza Fatality Events brochure contains an overview of what localities need to plan for during a pandemic event including signing and filing death certificates, handling human remains, and storage considerations.  Additionally, the OCME has prepared pandemic flu death estimates derived from VDH projections and CDC’s FluAid 2.0 software and presented by both Planning Districts and by Virginia Department of Emergency Management Regions .  While these numbers are estimates, they provide local authorities with an idea of how many deaths they might see in their locality and encourage collaboration with other districts/regions to manage fatalities.  While pandemic flu deaths would be natural deaths, the protocol for pronouncing the death, signing the death certificate, and handling the remains would not differ from that of seasonal flu, except that there would be higher numbers.  For a review of the protocol for managing pandemic flu deaths, interested readers may review the Flowchart for In-Hospital Pandemic Flu Deaths or the Flowchart for Out-of-Hospital Pandemic Flu Deaths   Please refer to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s Mass Fatality Planning website for additional information: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/medexam/mass.asp.  Additional information on Pandemic Flu is available at the following website:  http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/PandemicFlu/index.asp   Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Information Guidelines for Dealing with Pandemic Flu Mortuary Infection Control Practices for Cases of Pandemic Flu Hospital Flowchart for Pandemic Flu Death Management Flowchart for Pandemic Flu Flu Management Pamphlet Pan Flu Death Estimates by Planning District Pan Flu Death Estimates by VDEM Region Guidelines for Managing Mass Fatality Events   Click here to obtain the free Adobe Reader for opening PDF documents:   Questions? Please contact: Anna C. Noller, PhD Forensic Epidemiologist Office of the Chief Medical Examiner 400 East Jackson St Richmond, VA 23219 804-786-6063 (office) 804-371-8595 (fax)

Pan American Health Organization Press Release: New Guidelines for Handling Bodies after Disasters Click here to see press release   PAHO and WHO Emergency Preparedness Publication: MANAGEMENT OF DEAD BODIES IN DISASTER SITUATIONS Click Here to open the publication   World Health Organization (WHO) Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response Site Click here to visit site   Avian Influenza, including Influenza A (H5N1), in Humans: WHO Interim Infection Control Guideline for Health Care Facilities Click here to open the report Armed Forces Medical Intelligence Center Report: Bodies of Dead H5N1 Avian Influenza Patients Pose Minimal Risk for Virus Spread. Click here for report Mortuary Affairs Resources   Deaths To Be Reported and Investigated by the Medical Examiner System Guidelines: Click to open document                          Critical Documents from Ready.Gov:       www.ready.gov   One of the primary mandates of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is to educate the public, on a continuing basis, about how to be prepared in case of a national emergency   Click to open the following documents:   Ready Brochure   Emergency Supplies and Procedures   EFFAK - Emergency Financial First Aid Kit   Mass Fatality Incidents A Guide to Human Forensic Identification By the US Department of Justice 83-PAGE DOCUMENT - Click to open     The Infection Hazards of Human Cadavers England's human remains management policy for infectious disease Click here for article     Emergency Preparedness & Response Information Virginia Department of Health Click Here to download the Pandemic Influenza Fact Sheet: www.vdh.state.va.us/EPR/PanFlu/PanFluFacts.asp

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