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| ACHOO!!! Don’t Let the Flu Catch You! There’s been much said about the novel H1N1 influenza, better known in its early days as Swine Flu, as well as some confusion on flu vaccines for this season. Know that you can trust the information coming from Lady of the Sea. Our Infection Control / Employee Health department is run by Helene Melancon, RN, CIC, certified in Infection Control and responsible along with our physicians and providers for educating our employees and our community on infectious diseases that could affect our area. In addition to Nurse Melancon, members of our staff have attended various trainings on pandemics and influenza this year so that we are prepared as a healthcare facility to provide the best in patient care to our community. A Pandemic is the spread of a single disease During a flu pandemic, such as the novel H1N1 influenza, the disease is spread quickly from person to person and affects many people in a short period of time. There are many flu viruses and they continually change. Usually the changes are slow and predictable, but if a flu virus changes a lot, it could result in a new kind of flu. A true global pandemic, like H1N1, is signaled by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is characterized by verified human – to – human transmission of a new strain of influenza able to cause community level outbreaks in a least 3 countries. Waves of influenza activity will usually continue to occur over the months following the initial pandemic declaration. Pandemic Flu VS Seasonal Flu Many people are looking for reliable information on the differences between H1N1 flu and seasonal flu. Seasonal flu goes around every year, usually in the fall and winter. It is not a completely new virus, so it strikes fewer people, since some have already gained immunity from being exposed in previous years. H1N1 influenza has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization as of June 11, 2009. It is expected that by the 2010 flu season, H1N1 will be included in the seasonal flu outbreaks. For up-to-date reliable information on influenza, see our website www.losgh.org or call our hotline at (985) 632-8200 to listen to a message on the latest information on flu. How is Influenza Spread? H1N1 influenza is spread much in the same way as the seasonal influenza virus – from person to person mainly through droplets of infection that are spread through coughing or sneezing of people with influenza. Sometimes people become infected by touching something, such as a surface or object with flu viruses on it, and then touching their mouth or nose. Studies have shown that influenza virus can survive on an environmental surface and can infect a person for 2 to 8 hours after being deposited on that surface. This means that if someone sneezes and droplets of the virus are spread on a countertop, for instance, and another person touches that countertop within 2 to 8 hours and then touches their own mouth, nose or eyes, then that person could become ill with the flu without actually being in direct contact with a sick person. The fact that we continued to see flu illnesses during the summer months this year is directly related to the new strain of influenza. This fact should make us more aware of our regular seasonal influenza time frame and the amount of flu illnesses we are likely to see throughout the 2009 – 2010 flu season. Symptoms of Seasonal Influenza and H1N1 Influenza The symptoms of novel H1N1 flu virus include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. A significant number of people infected with this virus have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. However, illness with the new H1N1 virus has ranged from mild to severe. Most people who have been sick have recovered without needing medical treatment. These are the same symptoms of the seasonal flu except that some people with the seasonal flu have a more severe and prolonged illness. As we enter the regular season for seasonal flu, we expect to see more people in our community sick with the flu, both seasonal and H1N1. If you become ill with influenza-like symptoms, the CDC recommends that you stay home and avoid contact with other people. In addition, you should stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone, meaning your fever should be gone without the use of fever-reducing medications. If you have severe illness or you are considered high risk for flu complications, then you should contact your health care provider. Your health care provider will then determine whether flu testing or treatment is needed. Who should get vaccinated this season, and with which vaccination? In general, anyone who wants to reduce their chances of getting the flu should get vaccinated. It is recommended by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that certain people should get vaccinated each year. It is expected that an H1N1 vaccine will be available sometime this fall, although no information has been given as to who will qualify to receive these vaccines and how they will be distributed by press time. Seasonal Flu Vaccinations are available at all of our family medical clinics now and will continue to be administered as long as we have vaccines available. Turn to Lady of the Sea for the most up-to-date information on influenza as well as any other illnesses affecting our community. Remember that you can check our website (www.losgh.org) and flu hotline (985) 632-8200 anytime, day or night. |
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