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9/30/2009 12:11:00 PM
Swine flu: 'This is going to be like a forest fire'
Medical experts get in gear to fight H1N1 strain of influenza
By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian
Flu season is shaping up to be like wildfire season, said Woodruff English, the supportive epidemiologist for all of Providence Health and Services' (PHS) Oregon health providers.
His comment came as the group's infectious disease experts from across Oregon prepared for flu season last week in Seaside.
"Sometimes it helps to have an image," he said. "This is going to be like a forest fire with a good Santa Ana wind behind it. This is a big one."
The forest fire metaphor can be used for every detail of the upcoming battle against H1N1 "swine" flu, he said. Distributing vaccines and encouraging people to take steps to prevent infection - like washing hands or coughing into your sleeve - are like lighting backfires.
"Our point of view is very strong, that the vaccine is good for people," English said. "Given what we're expecting from this particular influenza coming through the community, getting the vaccine is very beneficial."
In Clatsop County, the majority of the influenza cases coming through the medical system are H1N1, said Margo Lalich, the interim county Health Department co-director.
County and local immunization providers have been preparing for a massive effort to immunize as many at-risk people as possible when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available.
The H1N1 virus, which first appeared last spring and quickly spread worldwide, remains in the population and is expected to spread again with the return of the traditional flu season this fall and winter. Julia Riehl, PHS's manager of infection prevention and control, said that nobody is immune to the new virus.
In Oregon, the number of H1N1 cases compared to seasonal flu cases is unknown because the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) combines the tabulations of flu cases reported. Only when people are hospitalized or die does the DHS differentiate between the two. Since Sept. 1, there have been 16 hospitalizations and two deaths in the state from H1N1.
As the flu season kicks into high gear, the county is preparing for the nationwide release of H1N1 vaccine, expected to occur sometime in the first two weeks of October. The Oregon Immunization Program will begin distributing it to county health departments as soon as it is available. The counties, in turn, will provide the vaccine to local physicians, pharmacies and others who have registered to serve as H1N1 vaccinators.
But because supplies of the vaccine will be limited, only those in the top-priority groups identified by national health officials as the most vulnerable to the illness will be eligible to receive it in the initial phase of the vaccination effort. Those priority groups are:
? Pregnant women
? Household contacts/caregivers for children under 6 months of age
? Healthcare and emergency service personnel including some law enforcement
? All people 6 months to 24 years of age
? People ages 25 to 64 with health conditions that put them at higher risk from complications.
The county's share of the first shipment will be less than 400 doses. Additional deliveries will include all three dosage versions - flu mist, injections and pediatric doses.
Pregnant women can pass the immunity on to their newborn children, said Steve Buckelew, the Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) director of marketing. However, the nasal spray is not recommended for pregnant women, so the county is going to have to make "tough decisions" to distribute the first shipment of vaccines fairly.
"How do we work together with partners to assure that the vaccine that we get is distributed in a timely and equitable manner?" Lalich asked.
To make sure the limited amount of vaccine reaches priority groups, the Clatsop County health department is working closely with local hospitals on a countywide distribution plan.
'Challenge'
"Our challenge is that supply will not meet demand initially," Lalich said. "We want to assure that those most vulnerable to developing complications from exposure to H1N1 are immunized."
Working directly with government, hospitals and clinics are anxiously gearing up for the flu season. H1N1 represents a new variety of influenza virus, that enters its second year of widespread infection.
"This is a unique genetic code that had never been seen," said Kendra Gohl, the infection preventionist for CMH. "In its first year it attacked a whole different population (than previous flu viruses)."
Previous viruses have more frequently attacked people who are over the age of 65, or who have chronic illnesses. This virus affected the young population primarily when it first appeared. While it spread internationally very quickly, the illness proved to be no more fatal than seasonal flu. But if it holds true to patterns of previous viruses, as it mutates going into its second year H1N1 could become much more deadly.
Forty percent of Oregon's population is expected to be infected with the virus, said Buckelew. People are encouraged to stay home when they contract the flu until 24 hours after symptoms have passed.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web site, cdc.gov, has tool kits that tell how families can prepare for staying home and how businesses can prepare to have a number of employees absent, Gohl said.
? The health department has registered a number of local hospitals, clinics, doctors and pharmacists to perform H1N1 vaccinations. For information on how to receive a vaccination, talk to your own health provider, or call the Clatsop County Health and Human Services Department at (503) 325-8500.
Swine flu: 'This is going to be like a forest fire'
Medical experts get in gear to fight H1N1 strain of influenza
By JOE GAMM
The Daily Astorian
Flu season is shaping up to be like wildfire season, said Woodruff English, the supportive epidemiologist for all of Providence Health and Services' (PHS) Oregon health providers.
His comment came as the group's infectious disease experts from across Oregon prepared for flu season last week in Seaside.
"Sometimes it helps to have an image," he said. "This is going to be like a forest fire with a good Santa Ana wind behind it. This is a big one."
The forest fire metaphor can be used for every detail of the upcoming battle against H1N1 "swine" flu, he said. Distributing vaccines and encouraging people to take steps to prevent infection - like washing hands or coughing into your sleeve - are like lighting backfires.
"Our point of view is very strong, that the vaccine is good for people," English said. "Given what we're expecting from this particular influenza coming through the community, getting the vaccine is very beneficial."
In Clatsop County, the majority of the influenza cases coming through the medical system are H1N1, said Margo Lalich, the interim county Health Department co-director.
County and local immunization providers have been preparing for a massive effort to immunize as many at-risk people as possible when the H1N1 vaccine becomes available.
The H1N1 virus, which first appeared last spring and quickly spread worldwide, remains in the population and is expected to spread again with the return of the traditional flu season this fall and winter. Julia Riehl, PHS's manager of infection prevention and control, said that nobody is immune to the new virus.
In Oregon, the number of H1N1 cases compared to seasonal flu cases is unknown because the Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) combines the tabulations of flu cases reported. Only when people are hospitalized or die does the DHS differentiate between the two. Since Sept. 1, there have been 16 hospitalizations and two deaths in the state from H1N1.
As the flu season kicks into high gear, the county is preparing for the nationwide release of H1N1 vaccine, expected to occur sometime in the first two weeks of October. The Oregon Immunization Program will begin distributing it to county health departments as soon as it is available. The counties, in turn, will provide the vaccine to local physicians, pharmacies and others who have registered to serve as H1N1 vaccinators.
But because supplies of the vaccine will be limited, only those in the top-priority groups identified by national health officials as the most vulnerable to the illness will be eligible to receive it in the initial phase of the vaccination effort. Those priority groups are:
? Pregnant women
? Household contacts/caregivers for children under 6 months of age
? Healthcare and emergency service personnel including some law enforcement
? All people 6 months to 24 years of age
? People ages 25 to 64 with health conditions that put them at higher risk from complications.
The county's share of the first shipment will be less than 400 doses. Additional deliveries will include all three dosage versions - flu mist, injections and pediatric doses.
Pregnant women can pass the immunity on to their newborn children, said Steve Buckelew, the Columbia Memorial Hospital (CMH) director of marketing. However, the nasal spray is not recommended for pregnant women, so the county is going to have to make "tough decisions" to distribute the first shipment of vaccines fairly.
"How do we work together with partners to assure that the vaccine that we get is distributed in a timely and equitable manner?" Lalich asked.
To make sure the limited amount of vaccine reaches priority groups, the Clatsop County health department is working closely with local hospitals on a countywide distribution plan.
'Challenge'
"Our challenge is that supply will not meet demand initially," Lalich said. "We want to assure that those most vulnerable to developing complications from exposure to H1N1 are immunized."
Working directly with government, hospitals and clinics are anxiously gearing up for the flu season. H1N1 represents a new variety of influenza virus, that enters its second year of widespread infection.
"This is a unique genetic code that had never been seen," said Kendra Gohl, the infection preventionist for CMH. "In its first year it attacked a whole different population (than previous flu viruses)."
Previous viruses have more frequently attacked people who are over the age of 65, or who have chronic illnesses. This virus affected the young population primarily when it first appeared. While it spread internationally very quickly, the illness proved to be no more fatal than seasonal flu. But if it holds true to patterns of previous viruses, as it mutates going into its second year H1N1 could become much more deadly.
Forty percent of Oregon's population is expected to be infected with the virus, said Buckelew. People are encouraged to stay home when they contract the flu until 24 hours after symptoms have passed.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Web site, cdc.gov, has tool kits that tell how families can prepare for staying home and how businesses can prepare to have a number of employees absent, Gohl said.
? The health department has registered a number of local hospitals, clinics, doctors and pharmacists to perform H1N1 vaccinations. For information on how to receive a vaccination, talk to your own health provider, or call the Clatsop County Health and Human Services Department at (503) 325-8500.
