CHEYENNE - A group of National Guard soldiers waited for the Wyoming pandemic flu summit to start Friday morning, talking about the spread of an avian flu virus around the world.

One said to another, "I saw something on the news this morning about cats in Australia."

News reports about the H5N1 virus are everywhere, now that birds are spreading it across continents and in some cases infecting animals and people.

And the situation could get worse.

"Scientists properly worry that it may mutate in a way that will allow it to become transmissible among people,"said Mike Leavitt, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Leavitt was the guest of honor at the summit Friday morning at the Little America Hotel here. Gov. Mike Sullivan was in office the last time a secretary of Health and Human Services came to Wyoming more than a decade ago.

Leavitt and his staff are visiting every state in the country to talk about pandemic flu and encourage states and counties to plan for the inevitable. A pandemic flu is a global outbreak that occurs when a virus mutates to a new form that most people have no immunity to. There were three influenza pandemics in the 20th century, the most deadly in 1918.

Wyoming is the 22nd state they've visited, a staff member said.

"The problem with a pandemic is, anything you say before it sounds alarmist," said Leavitt, a former three-term governor of Utah. "There is a dilemma here. Pandemics happen. They don't happen frequently enough that we live in fear day to day, but they do happen."

And when they do, there aren't enough resources to help everyone at once.

The government is doing its part, he said: It's working with other nations to detect human cases of avian flu, stockpiling antiviral drugs and expanding the country's capacity to produce vaccine. It's encouraging insurance companies to allow patients to have more than a month's supply of prescription drugs on hand at a time, in case of emergency.

But local communities also must be prepared, Leavitt said.

"This is the reason the president has asked us to respond. He's asked us to mobilize the nation."

Assistant Secretary John Agwunobi said this generation is the first to have the benefit of modern disease tracking and warning systems.

"We have to use that opportunity," he said.

Being prepared isn't overreacting, Leavitt said. Much of the preparation would come in handy in case of any emergency, such as a natural disaster or biological weapons attack.

He urged communities to learn what they would do if a hospital was overwhelmed with patients, for example.

The public won't be able to count on everyone getting a vaccine just yet. They take too long to make and distribute.

The Wyoming Department of Health is also doing its part, officials said. They're collecting data about flu cases. They're helping counties develop response plans.

The state is not planning on a big stockpile of antiviral drugs, medicines that temper the symptoms of flu. Department director Dr. Brent Sherard said public education is more of a priority.

Wyoming families should follow reports about the flu, participate in local planning efforts and prepare their homes by creating stockpiles of food, supplies and basic medicines, Leavitt said.

If you can't afford to buy a bunch of extras at once, do it a little at a time, he said.

"This is called self-reliance. It's called personal preparedness," he said. "When you buy three cans of tuna fish, buy a fourth, and stick it under the bed."

Reach Barbara Nordby at (307) 266-0633 or at {M3barbara.nordby@casperstartribune.net.