The World Health Organization has not reported human or animal cases of avian influenza in the United States, however, Eugene Ciccone, director of the New Britain’s Department of Health said the state is taking the matter very seriously. In February, the state Department of Health held a pandemic planning summit with public health, and emergency management and response leaders within the state.

"The federal government has set aside grant money for each state. It’s to be distributed to local health departments, to assist in the planning process," Ciccone, said.

"The money will be split between the health department and the local hospital. Eighty percent will go to the health department, and 20 percent to the local hospital. We are currently looking over a plan of action, and the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health will determine how the monies will be distributed, whether it’s for staffing, or equipment -- right now we are in the pre-planning stages."

According to Ciccone, the department is waiting for direction from the state; however, he said, if there should be an outbreak tomorrow a plan is in place. "We should get guidelines from the state within the next few days.

"If it were to happen before we get a plan in place we would use one that we already have in place, like one we have in place for smallpox. We would revert to our bioterrorism plan," Ciccone said. "It’s unlikely that something like this will happen here in the U.S. because in the Western world, influenza is seasonal."

Ciccone also said schools will have their own plan of action.

Doris Kurtz, superintendent of schools, said that the school administration addressed the issue of influenza to parents in a newsletter months ago, and has distributed anti-bacterial soap to teachers for students.

"There’s no new urgency. This has not been a problem for us in the schools, and local health officials have been prepared and pretty much things have been addressed as far as we can in the school system," Kurtz said.

"We don’t feel like there is a need to create a new checklist for this. We have our own emergency plans, and this is already part of our contingency plan. I mean, it would depend on the degree, if you close a school or not beyond the precautionary measures a school already takes."

According to the Center for Disease Control, Influenza A (H5N1) is an influenza A virus subtype that occurs mainly in birds and is highly contagious and can be deadly to them. H5N1 does not usually infect people. Human cases associated with these outbreaks have been reported though, most occurring from direct or close contact with infected poultry or contaminated surfaces. However, a few rare cases of human-to-human spread of H5N1 virus have occurred, though transmission has not continued beyond one person.

And because all influenza viruses have the ability to change, scientists are concerned that H5N1 virus one day could be able to infect humans and spread easily from one person to another. For more information about avian influenza, contact the Center for Disease Control at (800) CDC-INFO.

Franchone Fraser-Ben Reuben Bey can be reached at ffraser@newbritainherald.com or by calling (860) 225-4601, Ext. 306.