Nackawic Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Committee (NPIPC) hosts first public meeting

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By Dot MacElwain

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More than 100 people met recently at Sure Life Assembly in Nackawic to learn more about the threat of pandemic influenza.

The meeting – hosted by the Nackawic Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Committee (NPIPC) and chaired by Sinikka Broczkowski – was the first public pandemic information meeting to be held in the area.

Marilyn Evans, operations manager of Ambulance New Brunswick for Stanley and district was guest speaker. Troy McQueen, provincial disaster co-ordinator with Ambulance New Brunswick, was also on hand to answer questions following Evans' audio-visual presentation.

"Marilyn spoke to the audience with her easy style, but with troubling information, said Broczkowski. "She told us the flu pandemic is imminent and could develop at any time, and will spread worldwide very quickly.

"The best thing for all of us to do is to prepare. Marilyn talked about what to put into an emergency kit for the home, and about getting the proper kinds of food, and safe drinking water, for times when these may not be readily available. Dehydration is a serious threat, but it can be controlled with a simple, homemade recipe. Each family unit will have to be prepared to be largely self-sufficient in time of pandemic."

Evans told the audience that the world is preparing, and that Nackawic's committee is one of a number of groups in this province to be taking the threat seriously and trying to prepare its residents and neighbours in outlying communities.

A number of local individuals were in attendance, as well as people from outside the immediate municipal area, including from Harvey and Meductic.

A question and answer period followed the presentation during which one gentleman said he remembers the Asiatic flu of the ‘50s when several hundred military personnel from CFB Gagetown to CFB Borden in Ontario died within an 18-hour period. Reference was also made to the 1918 flu, the result of which shut down the province's schools and caused chaos throughout the area.

"The pan committee will continue its work with a meeting later in October," noted Broczkowski. "Be on the lookout for more information and (more public) meetings in the future. In the meantime, educate yourselves in preparedness, as it is not a case of ‘if', but ‘when' a flu pandemic hits. Prepare for the worst; hope for the best."

Following is the recipe for Basic Fluid Solution, which Broczkowski described as similar to the one used by the medical community to restore hydration.

For more information, call Nackawic Town Hall at 575-2241.

Basic Fluid Solution

4 cups clean water

3 tablespoons sugar or honey

¼-teaspoon table salt