The number of those estimated to perish during another pandemic influenza (PI) event in the United States (US) may be between 5%-7% of the infected population (infected population est. to be 25%) or 3,612,500 – 5,057,500 respectively(1). Governmental authorities, primarily the medical examiner/coroner (ME/C), law enforcement, public health, and associated death care professionals will not only need to manage these fatalities but also the 2.4 million deaths that occur annually. The purpose of this paper is
to identify the predominant issues regarding command and control of mass fatalities, morgue operations, and body identification during a PI event and provide senior leaders actionable recommendations to managing this most daunting task.
White Paper – Operations, Identification and Command and Control of Mass Fatalities resulting from a Pandemic Influenza Event in the United States
