Amador County - In a presentation before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Amador County Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann outlined what actions the county is taking to prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic. The deadly airborne flu virus that originated in Mexico and has killed as many as 149 people in the Mexico City area has now been detected in at least 13 people in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday declared a “state of emergency,” allowing the state to deploy additional resources to the Department of Public Health. “In Amador County, we have had no symptoms of this, but we are monitoring the situation closely,” said Hartmann. “It is the Public Health Department’s responsibility to act aggressively in response to this,” he added. He said Health Department staff has been working overtime, and he personally attended 10-12 meetings the day before to address concerns. The majority of the local response is focused on monitoring. He said the Health Department is keeping close track of people who have either returned from Mexico, admitted to the hospital, or those who have been known to be in contact. The latter category is of less concern because there have been no local cases reported. Local health officials are also monitoring the school absentee rates and have contact on a daily basis with monitors at Mule Creek State Prison. “It’s hard to tell how this virus will spread…but it will increase, and increase quite dramatically,” Hartmann said. He said that as far as what the public can do, “people need to avoid the four letter word: fear.” Supervisor Ted Novelli asked if there were any vaccines available. Hartmann said that even if they approved the production of a vaccine within the next week, “we’d be looking at August until the end of October” before the vaccine was approved. Hartmann said the County has requested its allotment of Tamiflu, the most effective product found so far in combating the drug. For more information on the swine flu and its symptoms, go to the Amador County Public Health website. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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Amador County - In a presentation before the Board of Supervisors Tuesday, Amador County Health Officer Dr. Bob Hartmann outlined what actions the county is taking to prepare for a possible swine flu pandemic. The deadly airborne flu virus that originated in Mexico and has killed as many as 149 people in the Mexico City area has now been detected in at least 13 people in California. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday declared a “state of emergency,” allowing the state to deploy additional resources to the Department of Public Health. “In Amador County, we have had no symptoms of this, but we are monitoring the situation closely,” said Hartmann. “It is the Public Health Department’s responsibility to act aggressively in response to this,” he added. He said Health Department staff has been working overtime, and he personally attended 10-12 meetings the day before to address concerns. The majority of the local response is focused on monitoring. He said the Health Department is keeping close track of people who have either returned from Mexico, admitted to the hospital, or those who have been known to be in contact. The latter category is of less concern because there have been no local cases reported. Local health officials are also monitoring the school absentee rates and have contact on a daily basis with monitors at Mule Creek State Prison. “It’s hard to tell how this virus will spread…but it will increase, and increase quite dramatically,” Hartmann said. He said that as far as what the public can do, “people need to avoid the four letter word: fear.” Supervisor Ted Novelli asked if there were any vaccines available. Hartmann said that even if they approved the production of a vaccine within the next week, “we’d be looking at August until the end of October” before the vaccine was approved. Hartmann said the County has requested its allotment of Tamiflu, the most effective product found so far in combating the drug. For more information on the swine flu and its symptoms, go to the Amador County Public Health website. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
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