Preparations in Place Should Swine Flu Strike Here

COURT HOUSE — If Swine Flu cases develop in any number here, the county will accept anti-viral drugs and personal protection equipment from the state, according to County Health Officer/Public Health Coordinator Kevin Thomas.
The state and federal governments have activated the Strategic National Stockpile and moved about 1 million doses of anti-viral drugs into the state health department. The county Health Department is prepared to receive those if necessary, said Thomas.
The state will not ship anti-viral drugs until cases are documented, he said.
The county Health Department has been distributing brochures covering Swine Flu and offering preventative information on hand washing and staying home when sick.
Thomas said the state has provided all schools with guidelines for handling Swine Flu. If a Swine Flu case is confirmed in a school, it will close for seven days.
County workers have been told to stay home for seven days or until symptoms subside if they catch the flu.
“The main thing with stopping a spread is to keep healthy people away from people that are sick and the way to do that is to make sure sick people stay home,” said Thomas. “If they show up at work and they are sick, the boss has to send them home.”
If a person were admitted to a hospital with Swine Flu symptoms, samples would be taken and sent to the state. He said there are test samples from throughout the entire state pending results at the Centers for Disease Control laboratories.
A doctor visit where flu symptoms are present would not be reported to the county Health Department, said Thomas.
If cases broke out in the county, the health department would call for public meetings and events to be cancelled.
If many flu cases appeared at a hospital emergency room, the county Health Department could assist with a triage.
At this point, Swine Flu is almost comparable to a seasonal flu without a vaccine since there have been few deaths, said Thomas.
Cape Regional Medical Center has contingency plans should Swine Flu become a serious problem such as isolating patients, bringing in full staff and getting extra amounts of flu fighting drugs such as Tamiflu.
Vice President of Marketing Tom Piratzky said the hospital would follow the lead of the county Health Department. He said the hospital is updating the staff daily on the Swine Flu situation.
Lower Cape May Regional School District Superintendent Jack Pfizenmayer said he spoke with the state Commissioner of Education who said school closings, if necessary, would be handled on a local level. If a Swine Flu case were confirmed, the situation would be reviewed with the county.
He said the nurse’s office had sanitary wipes available along with soap dispensers throughout the schools.