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Well-known member
Health official says swine flu is here
By David A. Farrell
Item Staff Writer
PICAYUNE ? It?s here.
Two medical authorities on Friday confirmed that swine flu is present in Picayune and Pearl River County.
A state health department spokesman, Brad Williams, told a Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Crosby Memorial Library on Friday that swine flu is in Pearl River County and that if those who have not caught it yet, probably would.
His statement elicited an audible moan from about 50 business people at the breakfast.
In a related development, Dr. James Riser of Picayune said on Friday that his medical center is treating patients who have the flu-like symptoms as having swine flu.
?It?s here. Here?s what?s happening. We are not testing for swine flu. Health authorities say only test for Type-A. . .But they (federal and state health officials) tell you more than 98 percent of Type-A right now is H1N1,? said Riser. ?All the Type-A flu right now are assumed to be H1N1.?
Riser?s comments were echoed by Williams.
?It?s everywhere; it is a pandemic, which means it has gone worldwide; yes, it is in Picayune; yes, it is in this community,? said Williams, a health education-safe kids coordinator with the State Health Department.
?To this point, it?s not any big deal; but that could change,? he said.
Williams and Riser?s comments came in the wake of reports of a flu-like virus, or Type-A flu, in the Poplarville school system and at least one reported case in the Pearl River County School District. Picayune school officials last week also reported at last one case of Type-A flu.
Prior to Riser?s and Williams? comments, the reported flu cases here had not been confirmed as swine flu since no specific tests have been conducted for that particular strain. Riser is the first medical official here to confirm that he believes most of the cases are H1N1.
Health officials would only say last week that some of the cases in Poplarville were ?probably? swine flu.
Both Pearl River County school employees and Picayune school employees have been spraying classrooms with disinfectants to combat spread of the flu here. The spraying, or fogging, also this week prompted protests from a group of Picayune school district parents who say the chemicals being used were triggering allergic reactions in their children. The Picayune school board is talking to the parents, sources said Friday, and are supposed to meet with the parents at the Sept. 8 school board meeting.
Adding to the concern, news reports on Friday said that a child in the Hancock school system at Kiln had died after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Health authorities there said they were testing to see if swine flu was the cause of the child?s death.
Williams said that if, since the Spring, you have had a fever, nausea, an upper respiratory infection and diarrhea, ?you probably have already had it.?
However, Williams told the Chamber members, ?Let me say that at this moment there is no reason for you to be tied up in a wad over this thing.?
He said there are very few exceptions where swine flu will cause death and there is no way to predict exactly when the vaccine being developed right now for the H1N1 strain will be ready. Press reports have quoted federal health officials recently as saying it would be ready in October.
Williams said the swine flu outbreak is tracking similarly to the influenza of 1918 that killed millions worldwide, but said it is different and will act differently. He said that deadly outbreak started off slow in the Spring and Summer, but ?came back with a vengeance in the Fall.?
However, he said there is no way of telling if swine flu will do the same. ?There is a potential for this thing to turn nasty; we haven?t hit the Fall yet,? he added.
?I did not say that to start any panic, but there is a potential. Having said that, this is not the same strain of flu that was around in 1918,? he said. ?It?s something completely different.?
?It?s something they have never seen before, and that?s why people are frightened because they are afraid of anything new,? he said.
Williams said everyone should take precautions, especially keeping one?s hands clean by frequently washing them with soap. He also said that if those who become ill should stay home and see a doctor. ?Don?t go to work and give it to everyone else,? he said.
The state health department?s Web site says that four cases of swine flu have been diagnosed in Pearl River County, but it gives no details on the cases. Cases of a flu-like outbreak have been reported in Tupelo, Vicksburg, Hazlehurst and all along the Gulf Coast.
In Poplarville on Aug. 17 and 18, a small panic ensued when about 50 students in the Poplarville system came down with a flu-like virus and absenteeism hit 10 percent. However, school officials moved quickly to squelch the rumors and send out information to parents explaining procedures should their child came down with the flu.
Doctors in Poplarville said the flu was a Type-A.
Dr. Riser said that he will have a continuing count of the number of people he has treated for the flu on his Web site. He said he also would have a breakdown of students he has treated as to the school they attend.
His Web site is www.risermedical.net.
Said Riser, ?We diagnosed a teacher?s daughter as having it, and the teacher replied that she did not know it was here. They (federal and state health officials) are telling us that if it is a Type-A, to assume that it is H1N1.?
?We are keeping track of our positive As by school system so we can know how many from each system we have treated,? he said. ?It will be a flu-watch.?
?Basically, we are not testing for swine flu because when we test, there is a 98 percent probability that they have swine flu if they test Type-A,? he said.
He said last week, from Friday to Friday, his clinic treated 25 people with the flu, three from Hancock schools, seven from the Picayune school system and one from Pearl River County and one from Slidell. He said the other 12 were scattered throughout county communities.
He said most of those contracting the flu are in their 20s or younger. He said that most older adults seem not to be inclined to catch it as easily as younger people. ?There is a high density in the younger age,? he said, and added, ?Most older persons have built up a little immunity to it.?
He said the first case he diagnosed was in July, a college student home for the break.
He said the first symptoms are a sudden on-set of fever, and that if you start showing symptoms, you should remain home and see a doctor.
Riser owns Riser Medical Associates in Picayune.
The swine flu circled the globe in five months, an Associated Press dispatch reported, and predictions of high mortality rates this winter are being toned down because health officials say that so far the swine flu strain seems to be no more deadly than the usual strains that show up in the winter.
The AP reported Friday that the White House released a report from a group of advisors that predicted that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of U.S. citizens could contract what doctor?s call H1N1.
Death estimates ranged from 30,000 to 90,000, which sounds grim, but in a regular flu season, nationwide about 30 percent of the population is infected and about 36,000 die, the AP reported.
The AP reports that what is likely is a busy flu season that starts earlier than usual, Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC flu specialist, said. The new H1N1 strain never went away during the summer, infecting children at summer camps in particular. Already, clusters of illnesses are being reported at some schools and colleges around the country.
Health officials are hoping they will have a vaccine by sometime in October but other experts say it could take longer than that to supply the needed shots.
In late reports from The Associated Press, state authorities were still investigating the deaths of two students, one in Hancock County and one in Warren County.
Authorities were waiting for autopsy reports before declaring the cause of death. A 13-year-old Hancock Middle School student died Thursday, authorities believe, from possible complications associated with the flu. Coroner Norma Stiglet said Hancock officials are still investigating the death.
In Warren County, a 15-year-old student was at first believed to have died from bacterial meningitis. Coroner Doug Huskey said Wesley Husband died in a small waiting room detached from the main waiting area.
Huskey said preliminary findings of an autopsy showed that Husband had signs of pneumonia-like symptoms. Husband had reportedly been coughing and suffering from congestion. He had been out of school for several days and was treated on Tuesday.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Mary ?urrier said it might be next week before what caused the deaths of the two teens is accurately determined.
Also, in Jackson County, a 7-year-old girl died from flu complications, the AP reported. She had become sick and had not returned to school.
Cases also were reported in Forrest County and Lamar County school districts. At Mississippi State University, 279 probable flu cases were reported, the AP reported.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/local_story_241215316.html
By David A. Farrell
Item Staff Writer
PICAYUNE ? It?s here.
Two medical authorities on Friday confirmed that swine flu is present in Picayune and Pearl River County.
A state health department spokesman, Brad Williams, told a Greater Picayune Area Chamber of Commerce breakfast at Crosby Memorial Library on Friday that swine flu is in Pearl River County and that if those who have not caught it yet, probably would.
His statement elicited an audible moan from about 50 business people at the breakfast.
In a related development, Dr. James Riser of Picayune said on Friday that his medical center is treating patients who have the flu-like symptoms as having swine flu.
?It?s here. Here?s what?s happening. We are not testing for swine flu. Health authorities say only test for Type-A. . .But they (federal and state health officials) tell you more than 98 percent of Type-A right now is H1N1,? said Riser. ?All the Type-A flu right now are assumed to be H1N1.?
Riser?s comments were echoed by Williams.
?It?s everywhere; it is a pandemic, which means it has gone worldwide; yes, it is in Picayune; yes, it is in this community,? said Williams, a health education-safe kids coordinator with the State Health Department.
?To this point, it?s not any big deal; but that could change,? he said.
Williams and Riser?s comments came in the wake of reports of a flu-like virus, or Type-A flu, in the Poplarville school system and at least one reported case in the Pearl River County School District. Picayune school officials last week also reported at last one case of Type-A flu.
Prior to Riser?s and Williams? comments, the reported flu cases here had not been confirmed as swine flu since no specific tests have been conducted for that particular strain. Riser is the first medical official here to confirm that he believes most of the cases are H1N1.
Health officials would only say last week that some of the cases in Poplarville were ?probably? swine flu.
Both Pearl River County school employees and Picayune school employees have been spraying classrooms with disinfectants to combat spread of the flu here. The spraying, or fogging, also this week prompted protests from a group of Picayune school district parents who say the chemicals being used were triggering allergic reactions in their children. The Picayune school board is talking to the parents, sources said Friday, and are supposed to meet with the parents at the Sept. 8 school board meeting.
Adding to the concern, news reports on Friday said that a child in the Hancock school system at Kiln had died after exhibiting flu-like symptoms. Health authorities there said they were testing to see if swine flu was the cause of the child?s death.
Williams said that if, since the Spring, you have had a fever, nausea, an upper respiratory infection and diarrhea, ?you probably have already had it.?
However, Williams told the Chamber members, ?Let me say that at this moment there is no reason for you to be tied up in a wad over this thing.?
He said there are very few exceptions where swine flu will cause death and there is no way to predict exactly when the vaccine being developed right now for the H1N1 strain will be ready. Press reports have quoted federal health officials recently as saying it would be ready in October.
Williams said the swine flu outbreak is tracking similarly to the influenza of 1918 that killed millions worldwide, but said it is different and will act differently. He said that deadly outbreak started off slow in the Spring and Summer, but ?came back with a vengeance in the Fall.?
However, he said there is no way of telling if swine flu will do the same. ?There is a potential for this thing to turn nasty; we haven?t hit the Fall yet,? he added.
?I did not say that to start any panic, but there is a potential. Having said that, this is not the same strain of flu that was around in 1918,? he said. ?It?s something completely different.?
?It?s something they have never seen before, and that?s why people are frightened because they are afraid of anything new,? he said.
Williams said everyone should take precautions, especially keeping one?s hands clean by frequently washing them with soap. He also said that if those who become ill should stay home and see a doctor. ?Don?t go to work and give it to everyone else,? he said.
The state health department?s Web site says that four cases of swine flu have been diagnosed in Pearl River County, but it gives no details on the cases. Cases of a flu-like outbreak have been reported in Tupelo, Vicksburg, Hazlehurst and all along the Gulf Coast.
In Poplarville on Aug. 17 and 18, a small panic ensued when about 50 students in the Poplarville system came down with a flu-like virus and absenteeism hit 10 percent. However, school officials moved quickly to squelch the rumors and send out information to parents explaining procedures should their child came down with the flu.
Doctors in Poplarville said the flu was a Type-A.
Dr. Riser said that he will have a continuing count of the number of people he has treated for the flu on his Web site. He said he also would have a breakdown of students he has treated as to the school they attend.
His Web site is www.risermedical.net.
Said Riser, ?We diagnosed a teacher?s daughter as having it, and the teacher replied that she did not know it was here. They (federal and state health officials) are telling us that if it is a Type-A, to assume that it is H1N1.?
?We are keeping track of our positive As by school system so we can know how many from each system we have treated,? he said. ?It will be a flu-watch.?
?Basically, we are not testing for swine flu because when we test, there is a 98 percent probability that they have swine flu if they test Type-A,? he said.
He said last week, from Friday to Friday, his clinic treated 25 people with the flu, three from Hancock schools, seven from the Picayune school system and one from Pearl River County and one from Slidell. He said the other 12 were scattered throughout county communities.
He said most of those contracting the flu are in their 20s or younger. He said that most older adults seem not to be inclined to catch it as easily as younger people. ?There is a high density in the younger age,? he said, and added, ?Most older persons have built up a little immunity to it.?
He said the first case he diagnosed was in July, a college student home for the break.
He said the first symptoms are a sudden on-set of fever, and that if you start showing symptoms, you should remain home and see a doctor.
Riser owns Riser Medical Associates in Picayune.
The swine flu circled the globe in five months, an Associated Press dispatch reported, and predictions of high mortality rates this winter are being toned down because health officials say that so far the swine flu strain seems to be no more deadly than the usual strains that show up in the winter.
The AP reported Friday that the White House released a report from a group of advisors that predicted that anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent of U.S. citizens could contract what doctor?s call H1N1.
Death estimates ranged from 30,000 to 90,000, which sounds grim, but in a regular flu season, nationwide about 30 percent of the population is infected and about 36,000 die, the AP reported.
The AP reports that what is likely is a busy flu season that starts earlier than usual, Dr. Anne Schuchat, CDC flu specialist, said. The new H1N1 strain never went away during the summer, infecting children at summer camps in particular. Already, clusters of illnesses are being reported at some schools and colleges around the country.
Health officials are hoping they will have a vaccine by sometime in October but other experts say it could take longer than that to supply the needed shots.
In late reports from The Associated Press, state authorities were still investigating the deaths of two students, one in Hancock County and one in Warren County.
Authorities were waiting for autopsy reports before declaring the cause of death. A 13-year-old Hancock Middle School student died Thursday, authorities believe, from possible complications associated with the flu. Coroner Norma Stiglet said Hancock officials are still investigating the death.
In Warren County, a 15-year-old student was at first believed to have died from bacterial meningitis. Coroner Doug Huskey said Wesley Husband died in a small waiting room detached from the main waiting area.
Huskey said preliminary findings of an autopsy showed that Husband had signs of pneumonia-like symptoms. Husband had reportedly been coughing and suffering from congestion. He had been out of school for several days and was treated on Tuesday.
State Epidemiologist Dr. Mary ?urrier said it might be next week before what caused the deaths of the two teens is accurately determined.
Also, in Jackson County, a 7-year-old girl died from flu complications, the AP reported. She had become sick and had not returned to school.
Cases also were reported in Forrest County and Lamar County school districts. At Mississippi State University, 279 probable flu cases were reported, the AP reported.
http://www.picayuneitem.com/local/local_story_241215316.html