Leavitt urges people, institutions to take precaution against flu
Friday, March 10, 2006, By BOB MOEN

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- As bird flu is found in more places around the world, Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt said even a place as remote as Wyoming couldn't remain isolated forever if the bird flu was to mutate into a pandemic flu strain.

"If a pandemic happens in the 21st Century, it will come to Wyoming," Leavitt said Friday at the Wyoming Pandemic Flu Summit. "You can count on it."
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So far, the virus has not mutated into a form that spreads easily from human to human. But scientists say if that happens, it could start a pandemic.

That, Leavitt said, is why everyone should be prepared, from the state down to individual households.

"Have a plan that isn't just a piece of paper," Leavitt said, adding that families should prepare the same way they would for a major blizzard, making sure they have first-aid kits and adequate supplies of food and water. Communities should practice what they would do in case of a pandemic flu outbreak.

Gov. Dave Freudenthal said employers should be prepared to lose much of their work force for weeks at a time. ...

Freudenthal said the summit was called as a way of helping the state prepare for the possibility of a pandemic flu outbreak.