 |
1207 Oak St,
PO Box 939
La Marque, TX 77568
|
Public Health
Information Services
|
Phone:
409-938-2211
Fax: 409-938-2243
|
|
Planning for the Possibility of a
Swine Flu Pandemic
Printer friendly
Guest Column
Galveston County Daily News
April 29, 2009
Swine flu has reached national headlines.
Many are concerned about a pandemic – a widespread outbreak of swine flu in
the United States and throughout the world. For many years, health experts
have predicted and planned for a pandemic based on: prior pandemics
experiences; how the influenza virus mutates; how easily the virus spreads
from person to person; how sick a person may get if infected; and how an
outbreak might impact families, businesses, and community activities.
The Galveston County Health District (GCHD)
has also been planning for the possibility of a pandemic for several years.
In addition, GCHD has encouraged and assisted businesses, schools, and
others to develop plans on how to prevent the spread of disease and how to
deal with the social and economic impacts of a pandemic. While to-date,
there are no cases reported in Galveston or surrounding counties, GCHD has
activated its pandemic flu plans as follows:
-
A website has been
developed to provide the public and health professionals with up-to-date
information about swine flu activities in Galveston County as well as
general information about the disease and its prevention. The website
is located at
www.gchd.org
-
Disease detectives are
performing active surveillance by calling hospitals, ER’s and private
clinics to encourage testing of suspected cases and prompt reporting to
GCHD epidemiologist. Prompt reporting will allow GCHD to track
suspected cases and to identify the first case of swine flu in our
community, which would activate further public health actions.
-
Health alerts and
advisories have been distributed to the medical community regarding
signs and symptoms, how to test for swine flu, effective treatments, etc
-
Public health
preparedness staff is coordinating with state and federal response
officials through daily conference calls and important updates on the
development of swine flu cases in Texas and the nation. Any actions
taken in Galveston County will be coordinated with state and federal
officials, as well as officials in any neighboring counties.
The plans include working with local
medical and business groups as well as with state and federal emergency
officials. One component of the plan is to be ready to distribute vaccine
and/or antiviral medications to residents of the county. The Health
District has identified several sites throughout the county that could be
used for public vaccinations or for dispensing antiviral medications. Such
mass dispensing would only occur if Galveston County was impacted and
there is an effective vaccine/drug available in the federal stockpiles of
medications for such emergencies.
If there is a local outbreak, there are
many public measures that may be taken to prevent disease spread. One of
the most important things to consider at this time is what a person can do
to avoid exposure and prevent infection. A complete list can be found at
www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm, but here are some important tips to
reduce your chances of getting infected:
-
Stay calm and stay
informed.
Read about swine flu and keep up with its developments. You may
contact the GCHD public information officer, Kurt Koopmann, at
gchdlist@gchd.org to be added to
electronic updates for general public or for health professionals and
other officials.
-
Proper Hand Hygiene.
Practice frequent and proper hand washing with plain soap or use an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
-
Do NOT touch your
face.
Once
your hands are clean, do not touch your face, nose, eyes or lips.
Rubbing your eyes and nose provides a freeway for micro-organisms and
good breeding ground once they’ve arrived
-
Cover your cough.
If you
must cough or sneeze, cover your mouth with a tissue or your sleeve.
Throw the tissue away in a waste basket. Do not leave discarded tissues
on your desk or other surfaces. Then, wash your hands thoroughly.
-
Stay home and seek
medical care if you’re sick.
If you are feverish, achy, have a dry, painful cough or sore throat, go
home from school or work and call your health care provider. When
you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from
getting sick too.
-
Avoid close
contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
-
Practice
other good health habits.
Get plenty of
sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids,
and eat nutritious food. If you have a medical condition, talk to your
healthcare provider about what you can do to stay well and avoid
infection.
Prevention is our key message.
Our goals are to prevent infections in Galveston County and to avoid spread
to others. There is much each of us can do as individuals, and as a
community, to protect ourselves and minimize any possible impact in our
community.
Harlan “Mark” Guidry, MD, MPH
Chief Executive Officer and Health
Authority
Galveston County Health District
For More Information Contact:
Kurt Koopmann
Public Information Officer
Galveston
County Health District
(409) 938-2211
kkoopman@gchd.org
|
|
