Department Response to H1N1 (Swine) Flu

Current Conditions

Department of Homeland Security

• Federal Guidelines Encourage Employers to Plan Now for Upcoming Influenza Season - August 19, 2009
• Updated Federal Guidelines for 2009 H1N1 Influenza in Schools Offer Many Options - August 7, 2009
• There are no border restrictions in effect. U.S. Customs and Border Protection continues to monitor the health status of incoming visitors at our land, sea and air ports watching out for illness as part of their standard operating procedure. 
• The Department will conduct press briefings on the H1N1 (Swine) Flu as needed.

Medical

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a What's New page that has the latest conditions.  For updates when conditions change, you can:
  • sign up for e-mail updates
  • subscribe to an RSS feed
  • follow on Twitter
• Background on Swine Flu
• Good Health Habits Can Help Stop Germs
• International Health Issues

Veterinary

• Visit United States Department of Agriculture for updates on veterinary / food safety issues

International

• Visit Department of State for international / consular affairs information.

Schools

• Visit Department of Education for information about disseminating health information, planning for staff and student absences and school closures, and maintaining a learning environment.

May 6th Briefing

Full Transcript - Briefing Archive

Background

The federal government has been working to prepare for a possible pandemic for years. The National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza (PDF, 17 pages - 570 KB) outlines roles and responsibility and identifies lead deparments for:

• Medical response - Department of Health and Human Services
• Veterinary response - Department of Agriculture
• International activities - Department of State
• Overall domestic incident management and federal coordination - Department of Homeland Security

Each department is responsible for coordination of all efforts within its authorized mission, and departments are responsible for developing plans to implement this strategy.