Preparing for H1n1 Flu-pandemic in Nigeria: ethical considerations for health care workers

Abstract

The 2009 swine flu (H1N1 influenza) has spread globally with unprecedented speed. Considering the ease of transmission of the zoonosis, and current efforts to curtail the virus, national and international efforts to prevent further transmission of the virus are imperative. In Nigeria, current preventive efforts have failed to consider the ethical challenges of disaster preparedness. It is imperative to consider; ethics of quarantine deciding circumstances when public health trumps individual autonomy; as well as health workers' duty to care for H1N1 victims versus their right to refuse treatment to prevent contracting the highly contagious virus among others. The seriousness of the potential risk that healthcare workers could face during a swine flu outbreak brings to light unrealistic assumptions about duty and risk that informed the debate on duty to care in the early years of HIV/AIDS and SARS. These should be consistent with our values and peculiar needs, recognizing our shared vulnerability to disease and death. Altruism and heroism of individual healthcare workers may not be exclusive, but a synergy of health care planning and care provision in preventing another human scourge