Local vigilance increases for H1N1 swine flu

Flathead City-County Health Department Director Joe Russell said Thursday that three cases of H1N1 'swine) flu have been confirmed in the Flathead Valley.

He said the cases were confirmed through the state lab, not just by the rapid test given in clinics and doctor's offices.

"Testing has quadrupled in the last few weeks," he said.

According to Russell, both Kalispell Regional Medical Center and North Valley Hospital have had patients arrive at their emergency rooms complaining of flu symptoms.

Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, chills, headache or fatigue. The Centers for Disease Control also associates diarrhea and vomiting with the H1N1 influenza.

Maura Fields, chief clinical officer, said North Valley Hospital has no inpatients with flu but has seen people with flu-like symptoms. The hospital has isolation rooms for contagious conditions in the emergency department, inpatient and same day surgery areas.

She said the hospital has other indications of flu activity in the area.

"The lab staff has seen an uptick in requests from health-care provider orders for influenza screening," Fields said. "That's unusual for this time of year."

She added that North Valley Hospital developed procedures to handle widespread sickness by participating for three years in pandemic planning with the Health Department and Kalispell Regional Medical Center.

"It's been a very thorough planning process to serve the whole community," she said. "We're meeting regularly to stay up to date."

So far, Montana has 133 confirmed cases with one death associated with swine flu.

According to Russell, other areas of the country have experienced dramatic numbers of cases. He said the University of Washington H1N1 flu outbreak sickened more than 2,000 students. One Memphis hospital had 250 people come to the emergency room in a four-hour period, resulting in 17 admissions and four patients in intensive care.

"We have it all around us," he said.

Russell and his staff provided a briefing on H1N1 and seasonal flu preparations at the September County Board of Health meeting. These include a full-page ad of information scheduled to run this weekend.

He said the health-care community wants to stress that people should not assume they have had the flu if they experienced only a day or two of symptoms.

"Flu is a severe disease that lasts five to seven days," he said. "We want people to understand they should take it seriously and get vaccinated."

Russell stressed that all vaccinations remain voluntary.

Jody White, director of community health, said the department has received 40 percent of its seasonal flu vaccine. Shipment of the rest was postponed by the distributor to expedite shipment of the H1N1 vaccine, which is expected to arrive in mid- to late October.

"It's not a vaccine shortage - just a delay," she said.

The department may receive a small amount of H1N1 vaccine earlier which, if received, will go to high-priority groups such as pregnant women and children ages 6 months to 4 years. No dates have been set for the H1N1 vaccinations but seasonal flu clinics are scheduled for:

n Oct. 1 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Columbia Falls Veteran's Home.

n Oct. 1 from 1:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Whitefish Community Center (Golden Agers).

n Oct. 7 from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

n Oct. 13 from 9 a.m. to noon at Bigfork Bethany Lutheran Church.

The department also offers immunizations at the health department at 1035 First Ave. W. Call 751-8101 for daily clinic times.

Russell said the department encourages people to get the seasonal flu immunization as soon as possible. In answer to a board member's question, he said there is no physical problem with receiving the seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccines on the same day on alternate arms.

The H1N1 vaccine will be free from the department while the seasonal flu shot cost is $25. Health-care providers may charge a fee for administering the shots at their offices.

Russell the department maintains extensive information on the flu on its Web site, www.flatheadhealth.org. The site includes a special section for health-care providers.

The department also is coordinating with local schools that each received $1,000 to $3,000 from the CDC to mitigate the spread of H1N1. Glacier and Flathead high schools received $3,000 to purchase supplies such as hand sanitizer, thermometers, masks or posters.

The department provided a draft of a letter that schools sent home to parents detailing extra steps school staff may take "if flu becomes more severe." These include:

n Screening students and staff as they arrive at school for fever and flu symptoms.

n Increasing space between people such as moving desks farther apart and postponing class trips.

n Dismissing students from school for at least 7 days if they become sick.

The letter is posted on the Flathead Public Schools Web site, sd5.k12.mt.us.

Karen Glasser, director of human resources for Kalispell Public Schools, said nurses have been educating elementary-school children on proper ways to cover coughs, wash hands and other ways to prevent the spread of disease.

According to Russell, the department has no plans to offer vaccinations at schools but permission slips are going out to parents to fill out and turn in when they bring their children to a clinic for a vaccination.

When the vaccine arrives, he said the staff will offer H1N1 immunizations at the department to get a feel for how many people intend to get the vaccination.

"We could pick up our show and move it to the fairgrounds if we need to," Russell said.

In response to a question from a board member, he said that human resource policies don't allow the department to mandate that its own employees get vaccinated to protect the public. Hospitals face the same prohibition.

"I would hope that everyone in the building thinks it's necessary to do it since they work in public health," he said. "I know there are a few who don't."

Russell said testing has found the H1N1 vaccine very safe. He said it contains no adjuvants - agents added to increase the effectiveness.

He said people ask him all the time if he plans to vaccinate his own three children.

"They'll be first in line," Russell said. "That's a no-brainer."

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.