(Washington, DC)  --  U.S. Reps. Steven C. LaTourette (R-OH) and Lois Capps (D-CA), co-chairs of the bipartisan House Nursing Caucus, today wrote to the secretaries of Labor and Health and Human Services regarding the safety of the nation’s nurses in the event of a pandemic flu outbreak, including Avian flu.

 LaTourette and Capps expressed concern that a November 2005 government flu plan recommends that health care workers and emergency responders wear surgical masks for personal respiratory protection even though surgical masks offer little protection from airborne contaminants.  They said the recommendation regarding surgical masks contradicts the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) own respiratory protection standard, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) interim recommendation for health care facilities caring for patients with known or suspected Avian flu.

 “A surgical mask is going to do squat to protect nurses and emergency responders, and it is well documented that respirators that fit are needed,” LaTourette said.  “We are asking these federal leaders to follow recommendations to safeguard nurses and other health care workers.”

 LaTourette said many rescuers and workers at the World Trade Center have experienced serious respiratory problems after being exposed to smoke, dusk and debris in the aftermath of 9-11.   Many workers wore simple surgical masks, which are not designed to protect the wearer from contaminants.  Instead, the sometimes ill-fitting masks are designed to keep the wearer from spreading contaminants when sneezing or coughing.

 “It is imperative that the health and safety of responders be an integral part of any national preparations.  We should not wait until nurses experience a high rate of illness before we act to protect them from the risk of pandemic flu,” LaTourette and Capps wrote in their letter to Michael Leavitt, Secretary of Health and Human Services, and Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor.

 Congresswoman Capps, a nurse, said she is very concerned about “the lack of adequate planning and preparation to address the serious threat of a pandemic flu.”

 “We depend on nurses and other health care workers to care for us when we face a critical emergency whether it is a terrorist attack like 9-11 or health threat like the avian flu. We shouldn’t fail these health care professionals and first responders by providing them with unsafe masks that don’t adequately protect them from exposure to airborne hazards,” Capps said.  “I hope that the Administration will take immediate corrective action to ensure that nurses and first responders have all the tools necessary to protect their health and that of their patients and families.”

 The bipartisan letter, which will be sent later today, already contains the signatures of nearly 70 House members, including Appropriations Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Ohioans Sherrod Brown, Tim Ryan, Dennis Kucinich and Ted Strickland.