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Appendix G:

1. Sample Scenario

At [Hospital name]’s emergency department, a doctor sees his first patient, a 22-year-old male
student.The patient’s father states he has been complaining of weakness and chills and devel-
oped a temperature of 105 F.The father adds that during the past two days, the patient has
experienced increased difficulty breathing and has a past medical history of severe asthma.
Nothing in the patient’s recent history accounts for this sudden illness.The father thinks he
may have caught a “bug” from one of his friends.The patient is admitted, but is unresponsive
to medications.
The male student admitted to the hospital earlier in the day develops severe respiratory com-
plications and dies just after [time of day]. Hospital officials notify the medical examiner’s
office.An autopsy is scheduled to determine the cause of his death.
Due to the rapidly increasing number of patients presenting with unusual symptoms, some of
whom have died, notifications of such have taken place within the emergency response, med-
ical, and public health communities.
Many of the patients do not seem to respond to decongestants, analgesics, antibiotics, or
antiviral medication therapy.The lack of response to the initial treatment regimens and grow-
ing number of patients prompt physicians to seek advice and consultation from the public
health department.The local health department alerts the state department of health.
By late [time], approximately [number] patients have reported to area hospitals and clinics
with this severe, flu-like syndrome.The most severe cases have been hospitalized; however,
there are many more waiting in emergency rooms. Some hospitals have gone on diversion sta-
tus. Some patients have died since admission.As a result, the medical examiner’s office has
been called in to perform a growing number of autopsies.
A story reporting the increase in flu-like illnesses and related deaths appears in the local news.
Public health department officials and their public information officers (PIOs) begin meeting
to develop their public information strategy.

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