The Post Online - Cherokee County officials meet to discuss swine flu preparations

UPDATED - May 6, 2009

Local officials meet to discuss flu preparations

CENTRE — Law enforcement officers, emergency personnel and public health officials met Thursday morning at the Administrative Building to discuss plans for dealing with the swine flu if it reaches Cherokee County.

Probate Judge Melvyn Salter explained that the meeting was not a “panic meeting.” He said there have been no confirmed local cases of the infection, also known as the H1N1 virus.

According to the Alabama Department of Public Health, swine influenza virus is a respiratory infection caused by influenza type A viruses that typically cause outbreaks of influenza in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can occur. Human cases typically involve people who have had direct contact with pigs, but person-to-person transmission is suspected among recent cases.

Janet Hill from the Cherokee County Health Department said state health officials are stressing that there are specific symptoms potential sufferers of swine flu should be aware of.

“Dr. Williamson said it is important that people have fever and muscle aches before being tested,” Hill said, referring to state health officer Dr. Donald E. Williamson. “They are being flooded with specimens.”

So far, Hill said, there is a “95 percent chance” that two schoolchildren in Madison County have contracted the swine flu. She said that was no reason for panic because both students were treated and allowed to return home.

“The flu is mild and treatable in the United States,” Hill said. “We have adequate supplies of Tamiflu at the state level.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Williamson announced that schools will no longer be subject to automatic 14-day closures if a student is determined to be infected with the virus. His officeannounced that, instead, students with the virus "should stay home and not attend school or go into the community except to seek medical care for at least seven days."

Hill said the county Health Department has been conducting exercises for the past two years to help deal with just this type of situation. She suggested that people avoid unnecessary travel and take steps to wash their hands and cover their mouths for coughs and sneezes.

“Minimize exposure,” Hill said. “And Dr. Williamson will be giving updates every day.”

Hill said live feeds of all state Department of Public Health press conferences are available online at www.adph.org.

Salter said the meeting was called to let the public know the county has preparations in place.

"We just felt like this morning it would be wise if we got more governmental entities together to be aware the preparation has been made in the event there is any type of serious outbreak," he said. "I think the worst thing we could do is not keep the people informed."

On Wednesday, the Alabama High School Athletic Association suspended all sporting events in the state. In response, Superintendent of Schools Brian Johnson announced that he has suspended all out-of-county field trips until further notice.

Johnson said in-county field trips will continue for now. He said he has approved the purchase of 400 two-liter hand sanitizer wall units for the school system.

“Every classroom in the county will have one,” he said.

Johnson said the state has a contingency plan in place if infections are detected in local school systems, and he said the county will follow those guidelines.

“If there is one confirmed case of the swine flu in our system, we will close the schools for a minimum of seven days,” he said. “We’ve also been notified that if there is another confirmed case, we’ll go seven more days from that time.”

Johnson said the school system will stay in close contact with teachers, parents and students throughout the time there is a danger of the flu spreading through the schools.

“We’re not going to conceal or hide anything,” he said. “If we have a case confirmed, we will close our schools. We want to err on the side of caution.”

Daniel said the state has a system already in place to keep the public informed of any confirmed cases of swine flu.

“The doctor would notify the patient and the family first; then they would notify Public Health, who would notify EMA,” Daniel said. “If you hear a rumor it is probably unconfirmed. If it doesn’t come through those channels, then you don’t know for sure that it’s right.”

Salter said the county will hold any future press conferences at the County Administration Building, should they become necessary.