Getting readyHealth officials preparing for swine flu outbreak

Wahkiakum County public health officials have joined others around the world in responding to an outbreak of swine flu in Mexico.

Over 150 people have died from the illness in Mexico, and over 50 cases have been confirmed in the United States in the past week, Health Deapartment Administrator Judy Bright reported Monday. Cases have also been confirmed in British Columbia.

"The situation is serious," Bright told representatives of Wahkiakum schools, emergency responders, nursing facilities and other organizations in a Monday informational forum.

The outbreak has already spread too far to be contained, she said, so health officials expect cases to spread.

Strains of flu virus mutate as they spread, she added, sometimes becoming weaker and sometimes becoming more virulent.

"We don't know how it will change," she said. "The situation changes from day to day."

The county's public health officials have been monitoring the situation since last Friday with emergency response teams going on standby status. On Sunday, they activated the incident command team in Vancouver; the county is teamed with Clark and several other counties for public health emergencies. She commented Tuesday that the regional incident command team was one of the first, if not the first, in the state to go into action.

For now, she said, officials are monitoring the situation, contacting schools and health agencies and trying to keep the public informed of the situation. If cases are confirmed, they'll work with medical personnel and others to treat the patients and try to slow the spread of the illness.

Symptoms are normal flu symptoms, she said, fever, cough, fatigue, ache and sore throat, and also with this strain, some gastro-intestinal upset.

People with theses symptoms shouldn't rush to a doctor's office or hospital emergency room, Bright said. That will spread the disease. Instead, they should call a health care provider to make arrangements to be seen by a physician.

Treatment can include one of two anti-viral medicines that are effective when given early in the illness. The state health department announced Tuesday that it expects enough doses to treat about 230,000 people in the state. The stockpile also includes gloves, along with other personal protection and medical supplies.

People who have symptoms should stay home from work, school or what ever public activities they might have in order to slow the spread of the illness. If cases are observed in schools, the schools may close until the epidemic is over, Bright said.

In general, people should cover their coughs and sneezes to prevent spread of germs.

To avoid contacting the illness, people should avoid crowds and wash their hands with soap frequently.

Information is available from the health department at (360) 795-6207 or, toll-free, 888-452-0326. For after hours public health emergencies, call (360) 795-6207.

The county health department is also putting information on the county website, http://www.co.wahkiakum.wa.us, and The Eagle will post bulletins on its website, http://www.waheagle.com.

According to information from the state Department of Health, swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus. It only rarely infects humans who have close contact with pigs. The swine flu virus that’s being investigated now is different than the typical swine flu virus, and isn’t spread from pigs to humans. This new virus is spread person-to-person. There’s no risk from eating properly cooked pork or pork products.

Cases have been confirmed in five U.S. states —Texas, California, Ohio, New York, and Kansas, and in several other countries.

The Department of Health is asking all clinical laboratories to send all samples that test positive for type A flu to the state Public Health Laboratories for further testing. If samples can’t be specifically identified they’ll be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — the only U.S. public health laboratory that can positively identify this new type of flu.

The CDC has issued a travel health warning that recommends people avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.