Officials quell swine flu rumor, update public on H1N1 in the county
by Cassandra Colson | Reporter
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Hospital officials have dispelled a rumor circulating via text messages that claimed 12 people were admitted to Black River Memorial Hospital for H1N1 late last week.
Over the weekend, though, one adult was admitted to the hospital for suspected H1N1 flu virus with confirmation pending.
?We wanted the community to have accurate information so people didn?t panic unnecessarily,? said Mary Beth White-Jacobs, the hospital?s vice president of patient care services. ?Our concern was that we would have way too many people try to access health care that didn?t really need to and it would bog down the system for people who really were sick.?
In a press conference held last Friday, hospital and county officials addressed the rumor and updated the public on H1N1 in Jackson County. The hospital has seen an increase recently in people coming into the emergency department for flu-like symptoms.
?We wanted to be a bit proactive on this. We wanted to make sure people know that there are tools out there and that we have been working together to make a plan in case we do have a bigger issue,? White-Jacobs said. ?There?s been some really good collaboration in the community in working together to make sure there?s a plan.?
Christine Hovell, the county?s public health officer, said the county has scheduled its first free mass clinic for priority groups for Nov. 4 from 3-7 p.m. at Black River Falls High School. Pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants under 6 months, anyone from 6 months through 24 years of age and anyone 25 to 64 years of age with chronic medical conditions or weakened immune systems are eligible for either nasal or injectable vaccinations at this clinic.
?We are planning on having that clinic, unless for some reason we don?t get vaccines,? Hovell said.
The county, hospital and clinics have been working to vaccinate their staffs with the vaccines they have received so far, so they would be able to take care for patients.
Surveillance systems that the state and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention monitor indicate what viruses are circulating, and according to Hovell, these indicate 99 percent of what is circulating is H1N1. Jackson County has had four confirmed cases of H1N1 since the spring.
White-Jacobs said that while the hospital has seen an increase recently in people coming into the emergency department for flu-like symptoms, it is important for people to seek care for their symptoms if they are likely to get severe flu complications.
The CDC recommends that children younger than 5 ? especially children under 2 ? people 65 and older, pregnant women and people with underlying medical conditions seek medical advice if they have flu-like symptoms. If someone is experiencing severe complications, they should, of course, seek medical care immediately. Some of these warning signs include: difficulty breathing or chest pain, discolored lips, vomiting and being unable to keep liquids down, signs of dehydration, seizures or being less responsive than normal.
White-Jacobs noted that because the severity of the illness isn?t very high right now, most people have been able to treat their symptoms at home. She said it?s a good idea to call ahead and speak with a nurse on the hospital?s nurse advisor line regarding one?s symptoms before coming to the ER.
?We?re trying to prevent people from panicking because there?s so many things you can do to prevent it and it?s really of low severity for most people,? she said.
Hovell also said H1N1 isn?t as severe as first feared. In fact, she said less than 1 percent are hospitalized for severe illness.
?The concern was initially when it started, they weren?t sure how all our bodies were going to react to it, and they were worried about the virus changing and mutating enough to cause more severe symptoms than what we?re seeing,? Hovell said. ?At this point in time, the virus has stabilized ... so the severity of symptoms is not what they initially thought they might be.?
Signs of H1N1 include fatigue, fever, sore throat, muscle aches, chills, coughing and sneezing, with some cases involving diarrhea and vomiting. The virus spreads through coughing, sneezing and sometimes through touching objects contaminated with the virus. Some precautions include: covering one?s mouth and nose when sneezing or coughing, washing hands often, using hand sanitizers, avoiding touching one?s nose or mouth and staying home if ill.
White-Jacobs and Hovell emphasized plenty of fluids and rest for those with flu-like symptoms, along with staying home for at least 24 hours after a fever has expired without the help of medications.
Hovell said the CDC and World Health Organization have found that because H1N1 is a new virus, occurs more frequently in the younger population, with the highest incidence around 13 years of age.
?Having said that ... we are seeing it a little bit more in younger kids, too, and it does seem that severity of illness is occurring at a little bit of a younger age,? Hovell said. ?But again, most of these kids, if they are hospitalized, just in general across the United States, are seeming to go home, too, pretty quickly.?
Hovell said area schools have been doing an ?amazing job? with educating parents, students and staff about preventive practices. She said area schools have also been reporting surveillance data to the county since school began. Hovell said there has been a jump in the Black River Falls district, but no area schools have reached above a 20 percent threshold of students out with illness.
?Other schools that have closed have reached up in the 30 percent range? Hovell said.