Health, school officials on lookout for swine flu

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As worldwide concern grows over the increasing number of swine flu cases reported, area officials are taking a wait-and-see approach. Of the 41 cases of swine flu reported in the United States, only eight have been reported in California.

In Northern California, one case has been confirmed in Sacramento, where a student at a private Catholic school has been found to have the illness. The school has been temporarily closed down until later in the week, but health officials say he is already recovering. This is typical of the cases reported in the U.S., where there have been no fatalities.

Jelissa Walker, an infectious diseases nurse at San Ramon Regional Medical Center, said the hospital hasn’t had anyone come in with flu-like symptoms, but she’s notified her staff to be on the lookout just to be overcautious.

“I put it out to our emergency room that if they see anybody coming in with funky respiratory illnesses, with a fever and maybe some abdominal issues, to just keep me apprised, but we haven’t seen anything coming through our doors,” she said.

The regular flu season goes from October to the end of April and this year has been relatively minor in the number of cases, which means San Ramon Regional has a healthy stock of Tamiflu, which has effectively been treating swine flu cases.

“We’re one of I’d say three or four hospitals in the state that keeps a small stockpile of that,” Walker said. “We have an arsenal to treat our patients. We’re not concerned about supplying antivirals to them.”

If someone were to come into the emergency room with flu symptoms, hospital staff would take a nasal swab from the patient and test it, she said. If it was swine flu, the results would show it was the H1N1 strain, and the hospital would send it out for further testing. The patient would be treated, sent home and told to keep isolated for seven days.

Walker said she has told her staff to be aware, especially since some employees are taking vacations to Mexico.

San Ramon Valley Unified School District officials are being proactive on swine flu concerns. District spokesman Terry Koehne said that despite the fact that there are no cases of the illness they are sending information home to educate parents on the best way to keep from contracting the illness or spreading it.

“This is one of those things where parents want to know what’s going on so we’re doing out best to let them know,” Koehne said.

A notice sent home district wide suggests that any person with questions about swine flu symptoms or effects can contact the Contra Costa Health Services Department. It also offers suggestions for helping keep children safe from contracting or spreading the illness. These include:

* Don’t send sick children to school.

* If someone in your home is displaying flu-like symptoms contact a health provider.

* Teach children to wash hands frequently with soap and water.

* Teach children to stay at least three feet away from sick people.

Superintendent Steve Enoch reiterated that there have been no cases of swine flu reported within SRVUSD. “We will keep you updated with any important information as it impacts our community,” he added.

–Bay City News

By Geoff Gillette and Janet Pelletier

–Bay City News