Local public health officials continued efforts to alert the
public about taking precautions to avoid the spread of swine flu
Wednesday as the number of confirmed cases in the United States
rose to 91, with one death reported in Texas, according to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There are no reported
cases in San Benito County.
By Melissa Flores
Local public health officials continued efforts to alert the public about taking precautions to avoid the spread of swine flu today as the number of confirmed cases in the United States rose to 91, with one death reported in Texas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The World Health Organization upgraded the outbreak to phase 5 Wednesday afternoon. Phase 5 “is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication and implementation of the planned mitigation is short,” according to the WHO site.
“Influenza pandemics must be taken seriously precisely because of their capacity to spread rapidly to every country in the world,” wrote Margaret Chan, the WHO director-general.
Of the U. S. cases, 14 were confirmed in California, though no cases had been reported in San Benito County as of this afternoon, according to local health officials.
The World Health Organization had confirmed cases in nine countries, including Austria, Canada, Germany, Israel, New Zealand, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as Mexico, the country of origin for the global outbreak. The case count is at 148 worldwide, though many more cases are suspected in Mexico that have not been confirmed in a laboratory.
“We sent out health alerts to targeted populations to raise awareness that this is a new virus, but there is a treatment,” said Samela Perez, the public information officer for San Benito County’s Health and Human Services Agency Public Health Services, on Monday. “We also let them know what they can do, what are universal precautions.”
The CDC implemented its emergency response Wednesday in hopes of reducing transmission and severity of illness, as well as to provide more information to local health officials. CDC staff continue to release the antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir, which are effective in treating the illness.
Locally, health officials have targeted schools, labor camps and other agencies that can help get out the information about how to prevent the spread of illness. Some of the precautions include covering the nose and mouth when sneezing or coughing; washing hands frequently; avoiding close contact with sick people; and staying home if you have flu-like symptoms.
“People should stay in if they are sick,” Perez said. “Keep children home if they are ill – unless they have respiratory distress or a high fever, or something that warrants seeing a physician.”
Look for an expanded story in The Weekend Pinnacle on Friday and look for breaking updates at www.freelancenewscom.
