ABSTRACT
Avian influenza is a highly infectious disease in poultry and although the risk of human infection is low, concerns exist that it could evolve into a new human strain of pandemic potential if reassortment with a human influenza virus occurs. In January 2007, the UK government introduced a programme to vaccinate poultry workers to reduce the potential of such an event. This study evaluates the delivery, uptake and costs of the programme in three counties of England. A questionnaire survey was completed by consultants in public health in all the Primary Care Trusts in Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire in May 2007. The delivery of the programme varied between Primary Care Trusts, including being delivered in some cases by clinics in primary care, by general practitioners and occupational health services in others. The uptake of vaccination was low ranging from 7% to 29% at a cost of £29 to £132 per person vaccinated. Vaccination of poultry workers as a public health measure to prevent an influenza pandemic is likely to be ineffective with the level of coverage found in this evaluation in our region.
Subject(s)
Influenza Vaccines/administration & dosage , Influenza in Birds/transmission , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Occupational Diseases/prevention & control , Animals , Chickens , Cost-Benefit Analysis , England/epidemiology , Humans , Influenza A virus/immunology , Influenza Vaccines/economics , Influenza in Birds/epidemiology , Influenza in Birds/prevention & control , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , Occupational Diseases/epidemiology , Occupational Exposure , Occupational Health , Public Health , SeasonsSubject(s)
Disease Outbreaks/prevention & control , Disease Outbreaks/veterinary , Influenza in Birds/epidemiology , Poultry Diseases/epidemiology , Agricultural Workers' Diseases/prevention & control , Animals , Antiviral Agents/therapeutic use , Disease Transmission, Infectious/prevention & control , Humans , Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype , Influenza Vaccines/administration & dosage , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Oseltamivir/therapeutic use , Poultry , United Kingdom/epidemiologyABSTRACT
While a minority of general practices have been producing annual reports for a number of years one of the implications of the government's new contract is that this process will become much more widespread. To date the majority of reports have concentrated on looking back at past activity rather than on looking forward. In this article a mechanism is outlined for turning the annual report into a vehicle for improving participation; for enabling performance review; and for providing direction for the future. Central to this process is the incorporation of a number of objectives into the report. Objectives should relate to the resources of the practice, the activities of the practice and the results which the practice hopes to achieve. Methods for deriving appropriate objectives are described.
