Local health officials are on the lookout for the swine flu.
So far there have been no confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu in the District of Columbia, Maryland or Virginia, but officials are preparing for the outbreak to reach the area.
D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty said in a statement that diseases respect no borders and that the District's health department is monitoring the situation.
D.C. Health Department Director Dr. Pierre Vigilance said the best way to prevent spread of the flu is to wash your hands frequently and to cover your mouth when coughing.
In the United States, there have been 41 confirmed cases of swine flu in five states so far, none of them fatal. The U.S. has declared a public health emergency.
The virus is believed to have killed 150 people in Mexico, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a "Phase 4" pandemic alert.
Maryland State Health Secretary John Colmers says if people feel sick, they should stay home.
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Dr. Frank Calia of the University of Maryland Medical Center says there's no reason to be concerned about contact with Mexican immigrants because the virus has an incubation period of one to three days. That would only affect people who have recently traveled from affected areas.
State officials say Maryland has plenty of anti-flu drugs. As a precaution, the federal government has sent 200,000 doses to Maryland, which already had 276,000.
While Virginia officials say there have been no cases of the virus reported in the commonwealth, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) has asked health care providers across the state to "have a high index of suspicion regarding cases of influenza like illness."
They are also asking that health care providers to test people who have flu-like symptoms and have traveled to the areas where the new strain of the swine flu has been confirmed. Those areas include: San Diego County and Imperial County, California; Guadalupe County, Texas; and Mexico.
Virginia Health Commissioner Karen Remley says the state has 770,000 courses of antivirus drugs with another 280,000 coming from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over the next week.
Swine influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that can also strike humans.
Symptoms of swine flu typically include fever, cough, sore throat, nasal congestion and runny nose. Additional symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, headache, chills, fatigue, pneumonia and respiratory failure. Persons with swine flu are contagious for up to seven days after the onset of illness and possibly longer if they are still symptomatic, according to health officials.
If you have an influenza like illness, VDH recommends following these guidelines:
- If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
The U.S. currently has four different antiviral drugs are licensed for the treatment of the flu. At this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recommended the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.
More treatment recommendations can be found at www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/recommendations.htm.
For more information on swine flu and the ongoing CDC investigation, visit cdc.gov/flu/swine/index.htm.
