'Flu pandemic overdue'

It's a matter of when, rather than if, they say. They're urging the community to be ready and prepared since the influenza pandemic may strike any time.

The region last week gathered more than 200 senior public and private sector decision-makers to participate in a pandemic influenza emergency preparedness exercise.

"Experts predict that one pandemic hits every 25 to 30 years, which means we are overdue. It can strike any time," warned David Szwarc, chief administrative officer of Region of Peel.

"We can control how to respond when that moment arrives, but we can't control when will it happen," said Szwarc.

The participants tested their emergency response and decision-making processes in the event of an outbreak to ensure Peel is a disaster-resilient community.

"We have learned a lot from the winter storms, SARS and the blackout of 2003, and all these important lessons will help us find the best solution in any situation that comes in our way in the future," said Regional Chair Emil Kolb.

He said the region is committed to working proactively with community partners to deal with any emergency.

Pandemics happen when a new kind of influenza virus appears and spreads from person to person quickly around the world. Since people have no protection against the new virus, it can cause more illnesses and a larger number of deaths than the seasonal flu.

Once the virus emerges in another part of the world, it can appear in Canada within three months and spread across the continent in weeks.

The conference stressed the need for awareness, preparedness, working together and building strong connections within the community.

According to the Pandemic Plan for the Health Sector in Peel, 400 to 980 people may die in case of an outbreak.

"But in Peel, we are in good hands and prepared," said Zwarc. "Our motto is emergency preparedness. We have brought together leaders from all sectors of the community to ensure when the time arrives, we can deal with it."

Peel Regional Emergency Program (Prep) leads the Region's emergency planning while working with area municipalities to ensure a high level of municipal emergency response and preparedness.

Prep aims at saving lives, decrease suffering, improve the health and protecting properties as well as developing and implementing plans for all kinds of emergencies.

It established emergency management structure for the Region and related emergency response agencies to manage circumstances that are beyond a normal incident.