Employee Page
All Staff Update, H1N1 (Swine Flu):
05/01/09
At 10 a.m. on Friday, May 1, 2009, Dr. Jacqueline Grant, Director of the Southwest Health District, conducted a conference call with health, school and government officials regarding H1N1 influenza (swine flu). The key points of her message are listed below.
The following symptoms are included in the case definition of a febrile respiratory illness:
- Fever greater than or equal to 100 degrees
- Cough
- Runny nose or nasal congestion
- Sore throat
- Body aches, chills, and fatigue
- Occasionally nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.
Exposure criteria for H1N1 influenza include recent travel (within seven days) to Mexico or other areas where there have been confirmed cases in humans or animal reservoirs; close contact (within three feet) with someone who has a confirmed case; and working with the novel H1N1 influenza in a laboratory.
Individuals are considered to be suspects if they meet the case definition and the exposure criteria for H1N1 influenza.
An algorithm to assist in decision-making regarding the testing and treatment of H1N1 influenza in areas with fewer than five confirmed cases will be placed on the District website: www.southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org.
- Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) has categorized this epidemic as Phase 5, which is one level before a declared pandemic. At Phase 5, there are large clusters of human cases, but the spread is localized.
One death has been reported in the United States and one person, a 30 year old female, has been hospitalized in Georgia with H1N1. She had recently traveled to Cancun, Mexico from Kentucky and came to Georgia to attend a wedding in the LaGrange area.
- Our chief objectives include the reduction of transmission and illness severity and the provision of information to health care and the public to address the challenges posed by the virus. Therefore, everyone should continue to practice infection prevention measures:
- Proper hand washing techniques;
- Use proper techniques to suppress viral transmission from coughing and sneezing; i.e., cover your coughs and sneezes;
- Stay home if sick with flu-like symptoms
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Fever greater than or equal to 100 degrees.
- City and county governments, businesses and schools are encouraged to begin looking at their contingency plans for pandemic influenza, emphasize safety messages, and stay tuned for updates and further recommendations.
Additional information can be accessed at www.southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org; www.cdc.gov; and www.pandemicflu.gov
To accommodate the concerns of the worried well, the State of Georgia has opened a toll free line offering recorded information on H1N1 influenza. The number is 1-888-889-9788.
