Saturday, December 13, 2008

Social Distancing During a Pandemic

Provident Principles and Practices
© David Edwards, 2008


PRINCIPLES: To receive the greatest possible protection during a pandemic, we are counseled by health experts with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to practice effective social distancing and hand hygiene.
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PRACTICES: Eight fact sheets published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and Web pages at http://www.pandemicflu.gov/ provide excellent direction on minimizing our exposure to viruses that can cause pandemic illness.


Minimizing the potential for the spread of pandemic illness can be accomplished by (i) having each member of your nuclear family keep a safe distance away from persons outside of the nuclear family during a pandemic wave, (ii) eliminating the potential for droplet transmission, and (iii) avoiding touching objects that may have become contaminated with virus.


The major means by which pandemic virus is communicated from one person to another is thought to be exposure to respiratory droplets from coughs, sneezes, or talking. Viruses in the droplets can come in contact with mucous membranes in the nose, mouth or eyes and cause potentially deadly disease.


Viruses on objects can be picked up from inanimate objects as well. Typical disease-causing viruses are known to be able to survive in viable form on environmental surfaces outside the human body for up to a day or longer. Inanimate objects include door knobs, mail, papers, keyboards, toys, and groceries. Frequent and thorough hand washing, and proper wearing of protective gloves when necessary, may be helpful in minimizing exposure to viruses.


During a pandemic, keeping one's distance from persons other than members of the nuclear family is critical. Anyone not practicing strict social distancing may be a potential virus carrier. While some persons may not display evident symptoms at a given moment, they may still be contagious. Stay at least six feet away from others in public. Do not shake hands or engage in other forms of physical contact with them.


A number of other stategies may be used to further implement social distancing. An effective long-term measure in many instances may be voluntary seclusion, sometimes called reverse quarantine. In other cases, isolation or quarantine may be necessary.


Social distancing may entail voluntary seclusion at home during a time that a pandemic wave is sweeping throughout a community. This can keep you and your family out of contact with others who may be ill and who may be capable of transmitting to your family a potentially deadly disease.


Social distancing may also involve isolation. If you do get sick with pandemic illness, then you must remain isolated from others until you get better; otherwise, other people could get very sick or die by contacting you or by getting too close to you when you cough or sneeze or talk with them.


Social distancing may also involve quarantine. If you've been in contact with others who may have been exposed to pandemic virus, then you yourself need to stay secluded for a lengthy period to ensure that you are not contacting healthy individuals and putting them at risk during a time when you may be contagious. A quarantine for H5N1 pandemic influenza infection should generally be for 10 days unless health officials tell you differently.


If you have a child or other family member that gets sick with a pandemic illness, and you attend to him or her, then you need to wear personal protective equipment during your ministrations. Moreover, you must stay quarantined, keeping out of contact with any others. This is because you may have acquired virus from this person and thereby have become capable of spreading it to others. After exposure, you may be contagious for a period of time before you even start to feel ill.


Whenever pandemic virus is present in the community, or approaching rapidly from another location, it may be best for your children to stay at home or in the yard and away from any other children who might be carrying potentially deadly virus.


Social distancing through voluntary seclusion, isolation, or quarantine may require preparing items not discussed in the eight pandemic fact sheets but discussed elsewhere on the www.providentliving.org/ Web site. Proper provisioning includes storing food and water at home. A number of pandemic influenza researchers acknowledge a potential need for this kind of preparation. For example, Dr. Robert Webster, renowned pandemic influenza researcher, is said by ABC News to have "stored a three-month supply of food and water at his home in case of an outbreak.”


For more information, please see http://pandemicflu.gov/health/index.html and study carefully the eight pandemic fact sheets published by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; these are found at http://providentliving.org/pfw/multimedia/files/pfw/pdf/113475_PandemicPlanningPDFsCombined_pdf.pdf. You can read the ABC News report at http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/AvianFlu/story?id=1724801&page=1


Photo Credits:

Sick Man: www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pubs/images/maninbed.gif

H5N1: http://phil.cdc.gov/PHIL_Images/1841/1841_lores.jpg

Sick Child: http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/kudiseases/pubs/bedwetting_ez/images/ChildSick.gif

Can All You Can Poster: www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/history/8460v.gif