NORWICH – Chenango County healthcare officials participated in a conference call with the New York State Department of Health Monday afternoon to discuss current recommendations concerning swine flu.
A team from Chenango Memorial Hospital, including Dr. Michael Trevisani, chief medical officer; Connie White, director of infection control; Johneen Loftus, laboratory manager and Ron Cerow, administrator at the Residential Healthcare Facility, along with Chenango County Department of Public Health officials attended.
“We, along with the Public Health Department, are working closely to monitor the situation and evaluate updates from the New York State Department of Health. This information will be passed along to the public,” said Trevisani.
At this time, no cases of swine flu have been reported in upstate New York.
The World Health Organization is calling the spread of swine flu a possible pandemic, assigning a threat level of 4, two levels below a full-scale pandemic.
Twenty-eight students at a parochial school in Queens have been diagnosed over the last two days with the virus. Some of those infected had recently returned from a trip to Mexico. Swine flu has also been found in the United Kingdom, Canada, Spain, Israel and New Zealand and in several other states in America.
As many as 149 are suspected to have died from the flu in Mexico. At least 1,995 people have been hospitalized there with pneumonia.
National, state and local health departments are “on high alert” and practicing “a heightening state of surveillance” of the illness, said Chenango County Public Health Director Dr. Marcas Flindt.
“We will be working with Chenango Memorial Hospital to identify any flu cases that come in through their organization,” he said. “We are in the very first part of seeing this new virus in the U.S.”
Guidelines for testing, prophylaxis and treatment were reviewed during the conference call. Trevisani said healthcare officials discussed what constitutes a confirmed case, a probable case and a suspected case as well as what is an acute respiratory illness and an influenza-type illness, and what should be done in both cases.
Healthcare officials also reviewed local readiness to protect healthcare workers and the steps the public can take to guard against disease. These include: a) washing your hands with soap and water or using an alcohol-based hand cleanser, b) stay home from work or school if you are sick, c) keep hands away from your face and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, d) clean shared space more often such as telephone receivers, keyboards, steering wheels, and office equipment, and e) refrain from sharing personal items such as forks and spoons.
The public can obtain more information about swine flu and precautionary measures on the New York State Department of Health website at www.nyhealth.gov or by calling 1-800-808-1987.
Flindt said it was “advantageous” that the annual flu season is coming to an end in the U.S. (it usually runs from January to May) rather than have this new strain happen during the first part of the year.
According to the WHO, swine influenza is a form of the virus that normally infects pigs. There are many forms of flu, and the different varieties have the ability to exchange genes with one another. The form of flu that originated in Mexico is a genetic mixture of viruses that have been seen in pigs, birds and people. It’s being called a swine flu because the overall structure of the virus is of the type that affects pigs.