Australian Health Management Plan for Pandemic Influenza

What is new in the AHMPPI (2008)

While the underlying aims of pandemic planning, and the key measures used to control an influenza pandemic have not substantially changed, the AHMPPI (2008) reflects some significant developments since the last edition was published in 2006 (see Box 1).

Box 1: What is new in this document Strategic framework with explicit aims, goals and objectives for the health sector. Increased number of health response phases to take into account additional antiviral stocks, vaccine developments and other recent scientific findings. Revised antiviral, vaccine and PPE strategies. Revised planning assumptions and processes for continual review. New legislative basis for response. More emphasis on health system strengthening. Broader surveillance aims. Greater flexibility to ensure that the needs of the situation and different population groups can be better addressed.

The National Medical Stockpile (NMS) now has more antivirals and a candidate pandemic vaccine. This means that the overall approach to the health response, which was previously based on containment measures followed by maintenance, can be augmented (see Box 2). The health response phases are further outlined in Part 1, Section B3. The antiviral and vaccine strategies have also evolved, as have the strategies for the use of personal protective equipment (PPE).

Box 2: Phases of the health response
The ALERT phase	Being alert to the risk of a pandemic and preparing for a pandemic
The DELAY phase	Once the pandemic virus emerges overseas, keeping the virus out of Australia
The CONTAIN phase	Once the pandemic virus does arrive in Australia, limiting the early spread
The SUSTAIN phase	Sustaining the response, while we wait for a pandemic vaccine
The CONTROL phase	Controlling the pandemic spread with a vaccine
The RECOVER phase	Once the pandemic is under control, returning to normal, while remaining vigilant

The assumptions about what the next pandemic might look like and the likely effectiveness of different interventions have been reviewed, and in some cases revised, in light of new evidence. A process to continually review the key planning assumptions to take into account the latest scientific and medical research has also been established, ensuring that pandemic planning in Australia will remain evidence based and in line with the latest advances.

Additional focus is placed on strengthening the health system and the need to consider all health services, in addition to preparing specific influenza services.

Australia now has national legislation under the National Health Security Act 2007 (NHS Act) that strengthens the national surveillance and decision-making during health emergencies, as well as surveillance and reporting capacities. This legislation allows us to meet our obligations as a signatory to the WHO International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR), which means we have to report and respond to diseases that potentially affect travel and trade. These and other legislative issues have been reflected in this document and incorporated into all aspects of pandemic planning and response.

The need for immediate and updated information in an influenza pandemic will be great and the current approach to surveillance in AHMPPI (2008) goes beyond that for traditional communicable disease surveillance. The impacts of the pandemic (and the measures used to control it) are to be monitored and public perception and concerns gathered, so that the key issues can be taken into account in decision-making.

Finally, greater scope for flexibility has been incorporated into both planning and response to ensure that actions can be rapidly adapted to reflect the situation during the pandemic, and be tailored to better meet the needs of different groups or localities.

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This information is current for 03 September, 2010
This information was issued on 05 December, 2008