H1N1 Flu (Swine Flu) Information

Download a fact sheet on Swine Flu from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (PDF):
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Select Topic Latest Information from the Massachusetts DPH Blog CDC Vaccine Fact Sheets Helpful Tips What are the symptoms of swine flu? What you can do to stay healthy Where to find local information on swine flu Where to find the facts on swine flu What pregnant women should know about H1N1 What Southcoast is doing News coverage Advice from Southcoast ER physician Sam Shen, MD

Last Updated:
Thursday, November 19, 2009
(Next update as needed)

At Southcoast, your health matters — and so does your peace of mind.

Watch a video on vaccination and hand washing from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

Southcoast's mission is to deliver the safest, highest quality care and services to our patients. We take pride in the excellent care we provide every day, and value the opportunity to be your local connection to critical health information and services.

Southcoast has dedicated significant resources over the past months to monitoring the local situation and staying apprised of the ever-changing national and international situation. At Southcoast, we continue to follow the recommendations issued by the CDC and Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

We ask you to continue to use good health practices, most importantly, wash your hands often, practice good "cough etiquette" and stay home if you think you have the flu.

Latest Information from the Massachusetts DPH Blog

Read the DPH blog on H1N1 flu

Weekly Report on Novel H1N1 Influenza (swine flu) as of November 19, 2009.

This Week's Developments:

Don't Fall Prey to H1N1 Scams

This flu season, we all need to do everything we can to keep ourselves and our families safe and healthy — including keeping "high touch" surfaces like doorknobs, phones and toys clean. Flu viruses, including the H1N1 virus, can survive on these surfaces for several hours. However, once the wet droplets are completely dry, the virus is no longer infectious. According to the CDC, this can take anywhere from two to eight hours.

If someone you live, work, or go to school with is sick with the flu, it is important to keep all communal surfaces clean. But there is NO NEED to utilize industrial sanitization measures or specialty cleaning crews Ð any person our company that charges for services to "sanitize" your home or office against H1N1 is simply taking advantage of the current H1N1 flu situation and preying on your fears. There is no magic chemical that kills flu viruses. Any regular household cleaner will do. Just follow the directions on the product label.

You do not need to separately clean linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick; however, you should not share these items without thoroughly washing them first. Also, we recommend you throw tissues and other disposable items used by an infected person in the trash.

In addition, it is important that everyone continues to take simple preventive steps including washing your hands with soap and water or an alcohol based hand sanitizer and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze.

CDC Vaccine Fact Sheets

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention have issued fact sheets for the H1N1 (Swine) flu vaccines.

There are two types available: A shot and a nasal spray.

• Flu shot: Inactivated vaccine (vaccine that has killed virus in it) is injected into the muscle, like the annual flu shot. This sheet describes the inactivated vaccine.

  Download CDC's fact sheet on H1N1 flu shot (PDF).

  
  

• Flu spray: A live, intranasal vaccine (the nasal spray vaccine) is also available. It is described in a separate sheet.

  Download CDC's fact sheet on H1N1 flu spray (PDF).

Helpful Tips

DPH Guidance for the Public:

Preventing the Flu: Because there is no vaccine for H1N1 influenza, public health officials remind all Massachusetts residents to continue taking simple steps to keep themselves and others healthy.

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Cover your cough with a tissue or cough into your inner elbow and not into your hands.
• If you are sick stay home from work — and if your child is sick keep them home from school — until at least 24 hours after they are free of fever (100° Farenheit), or signs of a fever without the use of fever-reducing medications. (This is a change from the previous recommendation that ill persons stay home for 7 days after illness onset or until 24 hours after the resolution of symptoms, whichever was longer.)
• Health care workers who are sick should still stay home for 7 days after illness onset or until 24 hours after the resolution of symptoms, whichever was longer.
• Stay informed about the latest developments on the H1N1 flu.

Treating the Flu: Most people that get the H1N1 flu do not need to be tested or seen by a doctor. They can simply stay home, get plenty of rest, and take over-the-counter medication for their fever, aches and pains. Although the H1N1 flu doesn't seem to be more severe than the seasonal flu, certain groups of people may be at greater risk for complications from any flu — whether seasonal or H1N1.

Anyone in the groups listed below who has a fever, along with a cough, sore throat or runny nose, should contact their doctor to talk with them about treatment with antivirals. Antivirals work best if they are taken within 2 days of when symptoms start, so even people with mild illness should call their doctor right away if they have any of these conditions.

• Children less than 2 years old.
• People age 65 years or older.
• Pregnant women.
• People who have chronic health problems like heart disease, asthma or diabetes.
• Children and teens who are on long-term aspirin therapy who might be at risk for experiencing Reye's syndrome after influenza virus infection.
• Adults and children who have compromised immune systems caused by medications or by HIV infection.

The full report can be found at: http://publichealth.blog.state.ma.us/h1n1-swine-flu/.

Download DPH's latest confirmed case count (PDF).

What are the symptoms of swine flu?

The symptoms in people with swine flu are similar to normal human seasonal influenza and include:

• Fever.

• Cough.

• Headache.

• Runny nose.

• Lack of appetite.

• Myalgias (muscle aches and pains).

• Lethargy (tired feeling, low energy).

It can also include vomiting and diarrhea in addition to influenza symptoms.

Conjunctivitis (a type of eye infection) has been reported, but is not common.

Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause worsening of underlying chronic medical conditions and invasive bacterial infection. Symptoms in children may differ. Please check the DPH website.

What you can do to stay healthy

• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

• Practice good "cough etiquette" by coughing or sneezing into a tissue, or into your elbow instead of into your hands.

• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to avoid infecting them.

Where to find local information on swine flu

Southcoast Hospitals Group posts information on our website on a regular basis.

We encourage you to follow us on Twitter or by RSS feed.

• Southcoast Hospitals Twitter feed.

• Southcoast Hospitals "Flu Facts" podcast (iTunes link).

• Southcoast Hospitals RSS feed.

• City of New Bedford Health Department.

Where to find the facts on swine flu

When in question it is always best to refer to the experts.

The U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO) or your own Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) provide daily if not hourly, updates on the following websites.

We have highlighted a few items that you will find on these informative sites:

• Massachusetts Department of Public Health swine flu page

• Massachusetts Department of Public Health blog

MASS 211 activated to help provide the public with information: Massachusetts residents can now call (2-1-1) for basic information about swine flu.

What pregnant women should know about H1N1

September 3, 2009 | Health Column: H1N1 2009 & Pregnancy: Where are we now?

The following advice is from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention:

We don't know if this virus will cause pregnant women to have a greater chance of getting sick or have serious problems. We also do not know how this virus will affect the baby.

We do know that pregnant women are more likely to get sick than others and have more serious problems with seasonal flu. These problems may include early labor or severe pneumonia. We don't know if this virus will do the same, but it should be taken very seriously.

Full text and much more information can be found here.

What Southcoast is doing

Southcoast continues to monitor the latest information, guidelines and events coming from our public health officials. Here are highlights of what is taking place behind the scenes:

• The Southcoast PanVax Steering Committee (named after DPH's statewide Operation PanVax to address H1N1 and seasonal flu) has outlined a number of priorities, including employee vaccinations, public education, H1N1 public flu clinics, community outreach and educational posters and information for staff, patients and visitors.

• The hospital is working internally on a number of priorities, including diligent surveillance and screening by our health care providers, infection prevention personnel and laboratories.

• We continue to update our employees on the many levels of care necessary for this type of outbreak, including how to screen and report "suspected cases" of swine flu and how to treat and care for such cases.

• We are constantly evaluating our current supplies that assist in prevention, protection and mitigation of an outbreak that may affect one person to multiple people. This ranges from masks and gowns to beds and medications. We report this information across the three hospital sites and externally to public agencies. An important part of this process is ordering additional supplies and coordinating with the state regarding access to antiviral supplies.

• We are participating in regional, state and national emergency planning. Open lines of communication and coordinating efforts with Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Emergency Preparedness Bureau and Southcoast Emergency Preparedness Planning Partnership continue to be an essential part of our emergency preparedness. It is important to remember, the hospital's Emergency Preparedness Committee meets throughout the year to coordinate drills and plan for all types and levels of emergency incidents.

• Our Public Information Officer is working closely with our local media outlets to provide the most up-to-date information regarding the hospital's readiness and role as well as any important information that our community members need to know about their local health care services.

News coverage

News coverage of swine flu (H1N1 virus) from news aggegator website Alltop

Advice from Southcoast ER physician Sam Shen, MD

Sam Shen, MD, an emergency medicine physician at St. Luke's Hospital, spoke with WPRI Channel 12 (CBS) for a story on swine flu that ran on April 30, 2009. Click here to watch video.

More news coverage on swine flu.

(Sources: The Center for Disease Control, World Health Organization and the Massachusetts Department of Public Health: Swine Flu Alert DPH 4-30-09)