Local youth recovers
from swine flu

By Jessica Edwards

State health officials say a Haines youth diagnosed June 3 with swine flu virus has recovered, and say no other local cases have been reported.

“We’ll be watching Haines pretty closely,” said state epidemiologist Beth Funk. “We’ll want to see if it has spread person to person in Haines.”

State department of health and social services representatives say the youth first reported feeling ill May 27 after returning from a trip to Seattle, and say the youth’s family members and friends have remained healthy.

Five cases of the virus, also called “H1N1,” have been reported in Alaska since May 28, including one in Skagway. The virus has infected 13,217 people in the United States, and 27 people have died.

Funk said another swine flu case reported June 3 in Fairbanks appeared to have been “home grown,” or transmitted between Fairbanks residents, as opposed to the Haines case, which appeared to have been imported.

Because the disease’s incubation period is 10 days, Funk said she would have expected to see subsequent cases within 10 days if transmission had occurred between Haines residents.

Funk said the virus posed relatively little risk to healthy individuals and might not require a doctor’s visit. Swine flu presents similar symptoms to seasonal influenza or common flu, she said.

“As the (Center for Disease Control) watched cases, they found it was acting a lot like seasonal influenza,” said Funk.

“We’re mostly concerned with people in high-risk groups, including infants, people with chronic medical conditions…people 65 years and older, and pregnant women. They have more risk of developing complications.”

She said because Alaska was one of the last states with swine flu cases, state health officials had the benefit of observing the disease’s progress. Although there had been deaths, most people infected with the virus recovered, she said.

Nonetheless, flu virus shouldn’t be underestimated, she said, and most people weren’t aware seasonal influenza killed about 30,000 Americans each year. Because people won’t have any immunity to the swine flu virus, reactions may be more severe.

There is currently no swine flu vaccine, said Funk, and the medical community is watchful for possible future mutations. 

Funk said workers and employees needed to be aware that staying home if sick prevented the spread of illness. Voluntary self-isolation is an important concept in public health, she said.

Work ethic or pressure from employers often factor into the decision to go to work when sick.

“Most of us can say we’ve gone to work when we shouldn’t have. We need to rethink the concept of work ethic in terms of public health.”

Haines medical clinic administrator Marcia Scott said anyone with flu symptoms needing medical treatment should call the clinic and speak to a nurse. She said wearing a surgical mask and minimizing contact with others could reduce spreading the illness.

“We’ve had signs up for some time that say if patients are coughing or sneezing, they may want to wear surgical masks,” said Scott. “We urge people to call in if they have flu-like symptoms. Nurses can assess if they need to come to the clinic and if patients need to use the back door.”
     The swine flu virus was first detected in the U.S. in April 2009. The Center for Disease Control website says the disease spreads from person to person, primarily through respiratory droplets from coughing and sneezing.

The CDC advises covering mouth and nose when sneezing, washing hands regularly with hot water and soap, and minimizing contact with others if sick.

To track H1N1 cases in Alaska, visit the website www.epi.alaska.gov and follow the “swine flu” link. For in-depth information about swine flu virus, see the website www.cdc.gov/H1N1flu/.