News

CPRG News

14 January 2025 – We are sad to announce that Dr Justin Fletcher is stepping down from his role as GP Clinical Lead in the CPRG team. Justin has made a significant contribution to emergency planning and response in his time in the role. He has provided a measured, sound clinical voice to all our work, especially in our CPRG updates. We have all benefitted from his guidance in challenging times.

We have appointed a GP to the role that Justin is leaving and will make this announcement shortly.

Pertussis Awareness

Reporting has paused during the Christmas-New Years’ period. Criteria for testing was released in December. Patients are considered higher priority for testing if:

  • They have an illness that is clinically compatible with pertussis AND
  • It is within 3 weeks of cough onset AND
  • Any one of the following applies to the person:
    • they are aged under 5 years
    • they are pregnant and in the third trimester
    • they have a chronic respiratory condition and/or are immunocompromised
    • they live, work, or routinely spend time with a child/children under 12 months old, pregnant people, or other people at risk of severe outcomes
    • there has been a specific request from the Medical Officer of Health to test.

Check out the ESR dashboard for more information.

H5N1 Avian Influenza Northern Hemisphere News

14 January 2025 – CDC has confirmed 66 human cases of H5N1 in the United States with one death. No known human-to-human transmission at this point. For more information: H5 Bird Flu: Current Situation | Bird Flu | CDC

19 December 2024 – California has declared a state of emergency due to the spread of H5N1 in dairy cows in the state. So far, there has been no trace of cow to human transmission, and pasteurisation removes the risk of catching it from drinking milk. There have so far been no cases of bird flu passing from one human to another. One case of severe bird flu has been found in Louisiana, expected to have been transmitted from backyard fowl to a person with underlying health conditions. Infected birds shed the virus through their saliva, mucous and faeces and it circulates in the air in dust or in droplets which then enters the human through their eyes, nose or mouth. Most of the other cases in the northern hemisphere are reported to experience mild symptoms. Farm workers in the USA have been encouraged to get flu vaccinations to prevent getting multiple influenza strains, although it will not protect against bird flu.

 

Emergency Events

Hikurangi Tsunami Workshop 30 August 2024

There have been a number of workshops with Civil Defence, Christchurch City Council, and other emergency agencies to discuss risk and preparations for natural disasters such as a tsunami. There is modeling being produced and updated regularly, which can be found here. Our Canterbury coastline has a high risk of local and regional source tsunamis, such as the Hikurangi subduction zone and the Puysegur Trench. Notes from the workshop can be found here.

Current Events

There are no current emergency events. For up-to-date information on known hazards, visit these sites below. There are also a couple of really interesting weather sites that you might be interested in: Ventusky – Wind, Rain and Temperature Maps and Windy: Rain, thunder. There are different filters you can apply (e.g. rain, wind, etc.) to see real-time weather patterns across NZ and the world.

Emergency Management Updates & Resources

Tsunami

Earthquakes

Weather

Other