Swine flu outbreak still too new to determine dangerWhile Wednesday's declaration of a Phase 5 swine flu pandemic alert by the World Health Organization should prompt people to keep informed and to take preventative measures, Powell Valley Healthcare officials say local residents needn't worry yet.“I don't think people should be afraid, but they should be watchful,” said Bill Goff, pandemic planning coordinator for Powell Valley Healthcare.

Goff advised residents to keep an eye on news coming out of the Park County Health Department in Cody, as well as information from the Centers for Disease Control.

While most swine flu cases outside Mexico are relatively mild, “it has a lot of potential, I think,” he said. “It's possible that we could be dealing with a fairly mild pandemic, or we could be dealing with something major.

“Right now, we have a fairly small number of cases to judge the morbidity by. As we have more cases, we can more accurately judge how severe it is.”

Goff noted that Powell Valley Healthcare has a pandemic plan in place. Its development was a two-year process, from late 2006 to late 2008.

“This has been a collaborative effort between department heads and myself,” he said, “but it was our Pandemic Flu Committee that did all the work.”

Goff and other PVHC employees and administrators tested that plan during a statewide pandemic exercise with state and county departments of health and other health-care providers across the state.

Carol Genz-Mould, infection control coordinator for Powell Valley Healthcare, said the organization recently followed state and federal guidelines to update the 79-page plan.

She noted that keeping the public informed of new developments and health risks is stressed in the plan.

“Part of our plan is transparency,” she said. “We're going to let the people know right away. It's written into the first couple of pages of the plan, and it's very clear.”

In an advisory to local caregivers, Goff provided the information about the new virus, which is a “mosaic” variant of a flu virus known as H1N1.

He said H1N1 initially was responsible for the Spanish Influenza of 1918, which killed an estimated 50-100 million people worldwide — approximately 2.5 to 5 percent of the world's population then. After that, the virus weakened dramatically, though it is still responsible for many mild flu cases annually and is included in most years' flu vaccines.

“This old, familiar organism now has mutated and combined with gene segments from four other flu viruses, using a pig as a ‘mixing vessel.' Goff said. “There is a North American human flu gene, a North American avian (bird) flu gene, and two swine flu genes,(one a North American variety, the other an Asian variety previously seen in Thailand).

“This is a combination never before seen, so humans have no natural immunity — neither is there any immunity from this year's (or any previous) seasonal flu vaccine.”

Goff said world health experts currently are working to develop an immunization to the new flu strain. That process likely will take three to six months.

To prevent catching swine flu, “the usual precautions apply,” Goff wrote in the advisory. “Cover your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water or use hand sanitizer. Avoid touching your mouth, nose or eyes, and avoid close contact with sick people.

“If you get sick with flu-like symptoms, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.”

Genz-Mould advised people who have flu-like symptoms — fever, cough, aches and a feeling of malaise — to call their health-care providers for instructions, but not to rush off immediately for the doctor's office.

She noted that people who are coming down with the flu are contagious about one day before they experience any symptoms, and remain contagious for seven days while they are ill.

While face masks can limit exposure, “They're not that effective,” she said. “They only work until they're damp with your own breath.”

For more information on swine flu, go to Powell Valley Healthcare's Web site at www.pvhc.org. There, you'll find a link the CDC Web site with swine flu information.