How to prepare for H1N1 flu

by state Rep. Dan Frankel

Some Pittsburgh public schools have already started, and others begin soon. That means parents are meeting teachers, buying school supplies, and taking their children for annual check-ups to make sure students are healthy and ready to learn.

One more item should go on to that back-to-school checklist: Prepare for what to do if someone in your family gets the flu.

Every fall, the health community plans for a new version of seasonal flu, but this year public health workers are getting ready for another, potentially serious, strain, the 2009 H1N1 virus, also known as "swine flu."

While the new H1N1 virus appeared in the U.S. last April, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continue to report higher than normal levels of flu-like illness and actual H1N1 outbreaks in some parts of the country.

That’s very unusual at this time of year.

The H1N1 symptoms are similar to seasonal flu -- fever, cough, sore throat, stuffy nose, achiness, headache, chills and fatigue. Sometimes H1N1 causes diarrhea and vomiting. Just like seasonal flu, it can be severe and potentially deadly.

And H1N1 can be particularly dangerous for a person with an underlying medical condition—such as asthma or diabetes—or if you’re pregnant. It has been most contagious among children and young adults aged six months to 24 years. Health-care workers, emergency responders and people caring for infants should be on guard.

In August, the state Department of Health reported 86 confirmed H1N1 flu cases in Allegheny County and 1,861 others elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Scientists believe the virus could worsen with the arrival of school. But if we prepare for the virus now by taking precautions, it does not have to.

Some of these precautions are simple common sense: regular hand-washing and using hand sanitizer when you can't wash hands, coughing into a tissue, and staying home if you’re sick. If you think you might have the flu, call your doctor. If you don’t have a doctor, you can call the Squirrel Hill Health Center or the Hazelwood Family Health Center, even if you don’t have health insurance.

You also might want to make back-up plans in case your child gets the flu. A few questions you might ask yourself include: If you work, have you made emergency arrangements for child care?  Have you talked with your employer about what to do in case you need to take days off to care for a sick child?

If you’re an employer, now is the time to plan to meet your objectives with a reduced staff. You do not want an employee who is ill to spread flu in the workplace.

At the national level, scientists at the National Institutes of Health, the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration are working with vaccine manufacturers to make sure that an H1N1 vaccine is not only safe, but that the virus is not changing in ways that would reduce a vaccine’s impact. They expect to have a vaccine ready this fall.

To keep up to date with the latest information about H1N1, please visit www.flu.gov. The site provides guidance to prepare for, prevent and respond to an outbreak. It includes checklists and fact sheets that will help families and others make sure they are prepared.

The health community keeps emphasizing the basics:  wash your hands, cough in your sleeve, and be sure to stay home when you’re sick. Get the vaccine when it’s available. No one knows what the impact of the fall flu season will be until we’re in the middle of it. But how severe the flu becomes this fall will depend on how seriously each of us takes action to reduce the risk now.

The Squirrel Hill Health Center is located at 200 JHF Drive; phone 412-422-7442.

The Hazelwood Family Health Center is located at 4918 Second Ave.; phone 412-422-9520.

For a complete list of health-care resources, visit www.achd.net and click on the link to the "Guide for the Underinsured or Uninsured" in the center of the page. Or just come by my office at the corner of Murray and Forward (2345 Murray Ave., Suite 205) to pick up a hard copy.

As always, please feel free to contact my office staff at 412-422-1774 for assistance on any state-related matter.