According to new research in the U.S. in the event the world is subjected to a bird flu pandemic, four in every ten health professionals will stay away from work.
The researchers from Johns Hopkins School of Public Health in the U.S. and Israel's Ben-Gurion University surveyed 308 public health workers from three Maryland counties selected because their population sizes were comparable to those covered by 96 percent of the nation's public health departments serving communities of 500,000 people or fewer.
The survey, also found that 66 percent of public health workers felt they would put themselves at risk of infection if they were to report to work during a pandemic.
Ran Balicer, MD, MPH, lead author of the study a member of the health sciences faculty at Ben-Gurion University's Epidemiology Department, say local public health workers would be vital in the response to a pandemic, from monitoring the spread of illness, to organizing the distribution of medications, and to communicating critical health information to the public.
It appears that physicians and nurses, were more likely to say they would report for work, whereas technical or support staff, were the least likely to turn up.
According to the results, the willingness to report to work was strongest among employees who perceived an importance in their work and responsibilities during a pandemic.
This perception was evidently lowest among technical and support workers.
It seems less than one-third of all public health workers felt they would have an important role in the response to a pandemic.
The researchers say if almost 50% stay home it would seriously undermine the emergency response.