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The aviation department of Miami-Dade County, in conjunction with the Centers for Disease Control and prevention, held a simulation recently to test their pandemic capabilities.

Miami is such a gateway city -- not just to the Caribbean and the Americas anymore.  Daily flights to London, paris, Frankfurt, you name it:  Anything can come through Miami International Airport (and frequently does).

The Miami Herald did a nice job covering the event.  The Herald article is below.

Test drill at Miami International Airport aims to slow pandemics

About 400 people participated in the nation's first pandemic flu exercise at Miami International Airport.

BY INA PAIVA CORDLE

icordle@MiamiHerald.com

What if a deadly global pandemic were sweeping across the world and the United States needed to try to delay its effect on our shores?

For the first time, at Miami International Airport on Wednesday, about a dozen federal, state and local agencies participated in a simulation exercise to review the steps needed to screen international passengers arriving in the face of a severe influenza pandemic.

''It's an opportunity to test the plan, see how it works and what needs to be improved, so that when we need to use it for real we are ready,'' said Christine Pearson, spokeswoman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

About 400 people participated in the test drill, including about 200 voluntary actors. CDC, the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Transportation led the effort.

In the 20th century, the nation faced three influenza pandemics, in 1918, 1957 and 1968. A pandemic is defined as a new virus for which no one has immunity, which can affect humans and is spread easily between people.

And more pandemics are expected. Bird flu, which affects mostly poultry and wild birds in Asia, Africa and Europe, is being watched, because it sickened about 300 humans during the past decade.

''A pandemic is inevitable, but we can't say it's imminent,'' said Dr. Martin Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine for the CDC.

Yet in a global economy, it is not possible to create an ''ironclad fortress'' and not be affected, he said. ''The goal is not to stop it from coming here, but to delay its entry and slow down the speed in which it affects our citizens.'' That enables the government to prepare vaccines and distribute antiviral medication, while educating the public.

In the simulation, which took place earlier than scheduled at MIA's South Terminal, pretend passengers filled out health forms, were scanned for fever and assessed for potential exposure. All passengers from the plane must stay together until it is determined whether someone is sick, Pearson said.

Those who are ill or potentially exposed then would have a medical evaluation. Those who are sick are sent to a hospital for testing and evaluation. If passengers are not sick but potentially exposed, their health would be monitored to see whether they develop symptoms.

''The exercise exceeded our expectations,'' Cetron said. ``We learned a lot, but perhaps the most important was the ability of all the agencies to work together.''