Reported September 02, 2009

City-Cowley County Health director David Brazil thinks that as much as 25 percent to 30 percent of Cowley County residents will become sick with H1N1 Flu, or Swine Flu, at some point this flu season. But he encourages people to practice good hygiene and to be cautious, rather than fearful.

“We're just trying to reassure the public that this isn't cause for panic,” he said in a phone interview. “Most people are experiencing only mild symptoms.”

The health department is focused now on developing a plan for administering free H1N1 Flu vaccinations when they become available. Brazil expects Cowley County to get its first of a series of weekly vaccine shipments by October.

Those in high-risk groups – which include pregnant women and those with previously-compromised immunity – will be vaccinated first but eventually enough should be available to vaccinate 40 percent of the county's population.

“That should be enough for anyone who wants it,” he said.

Thorough information about the virus is available here.

The number of area residents who have had or will get the H1N1 Flu will never be fully known. State officials tracked the first three or four cases only to document that the virus had made it to Cowley County. Future cases will not be formally tracked by the state, though some hospitals may keep their own count, Brazil said.

School districts in both Arkansas City and Winfield are stressing proper hand washing, especially for younger students who may not keep their hands as clean as needed. Spokespersons for both districts said that the health department and Centers for Disease Control have stressed hand washing as a key way to prevent all illness, including H1N1.

KayLynn Smith – a Winfield school district official – said principals at each school have been asked to identify a quarantine room where kids sick with flu-like symptoms can wait to be picked up by a parent. That way sick kids aren't waiting in the nurse's office or the main office and being exposed to healthy kids.

Smith said she's heard estimates from locals health officials and from other sources that infection rates could top 30 percent by the end of the flu season.

The district is providing hand sanitizer at lunch time and stressing hand washing, especially for younger children. There has been discussion about vaccinating children for H1N1 at school, but Smith said school board members and health officials would have to make a decision like that.

“I don't know that we want to be lining kids up for shots at school,” she said. “I don't think that would be all that good for morale.”

In Ark City, school officials have sent home letters with general information regarding H1N1 flu and the district's efforts to prevent it. So far, there are no reported cases of the flu in the school district since the new year began.

The district is also initiating a district-wide handwashing campaign aimed at educating children on how to wash their hand and preventing illness, spokesperson Alisha Call said.

In addition to initiating the hand-washing campaign, the district continues to provide anti-bacterial and anti-microbial hand soap and frequently touched surfaces are disinfected regularly with approved cleaning products.

VACCINATIONS

Brazil expects the health department will use its drive-through model for giving vaccinations. Within a couple weeks, he said, the health department's board of directors will get a look at a final plan for providing shots for H1N1.

While waiting for that vaccine to arrive, Brazil suggested the public get vaccinated for the common seasonal flu. He also advises thorough hand washing, covering your cough when sick and skipping work when you don't feel well.

At the health department, administrators have relaxed a rule requiring doctor's notes for those employees who are sick with flu-like symptoms. Through the end of the year, employees with the flu can miss five days, instead of three, before they need to present a letter from a physician.

He also said employers should prepare themselves for employees that could miss more work days due to illness and said companies should encourage sick workers to stay home.

Brazil said staying away from the job when your sick is important because people have little built-up immunity for the H1N1 virus. That is a main reason it has passed so easily and is so contagious.

Information from the Centers for Disease Control shows that people with H1N1 are contagious for one day before they have symptoms and up to seven days after their fevers break.

Health officials are working with area schools, hospital and other groups to prepare for the illness. Once the illness begins to spread, the number of people that become sick can double every two weeks.

Brazil said most call or questions he's gotten about H1N1 have come from people who are either on the verge of panic or entirely unconcerned.

“And I think we need to be somewhere in the middle, calm but cautious,” he said.