State bird flu summit to plan for devastation
Sunday, March 12, 2006, BY FORD TURNER

With avian influenza a growing worldwide concern, Pennsylvania is preparing for a worst-case scenario in which 1.6 million residents get the flu and 37,000 are hospitalized.

Nancy Dering Martin, the state's deputy secretary of administration for human resources and management, said such an extensive outbreak, while unlikely, could have a drastic impact on schools, businesses and public institutions.

"If you are running a hospital and 30 percent of your nurses are sick, you need to be thinking about what you are going to do," she said.