Officials: No need for swine flu panic
The number of swine-flu cases is growing, but Iowans shouldn’t panic, state health officials said.
“Every year, we get some unusual virus that seems to affect thousands of people in the United States,” said Gregory Gray, a UI professor of epidemiology. “[The swine flu] is just acting like that.”
There haven’t been any confirmed swine-flu cases in Iowa, but the national count rose to 64 on Tuesday.
Swine flu, a respiratory disease in pigs, is spreading around the country from human-to-human contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Southern California and Texas residents reported viruses in late March. The infection has spread to individuals in New York, Kansas, and Ohio. Several high-school students in New York City became infected with the virus after a spring-break trip to Mexico.
State health officials are urging Iowans to stay at home if they have swine-flu symptoms, such as fever, body aches, and sore throats. Iowans should also call their health providers before going to the hospital or doctor’s office.
“We’ve had experience in this, and we’re ready to handle it,” said Doug Beardsley, the director of the Johnson County Public Health Department. The office learned how to deal with outbreaks after the Iowa City measles panic in 2004, he said.
The county department is reviewing pandemic-response plans with area hospitals, physicians, and schools, he said.
The Iowa Department of Public Health has access to 400,000 anti-viral doses and will distribute them as needed to all counties.
“We’re looking at how to handle [the swine flu] and what the next steps may be,” said Polly Carver-Kimm, a spokeswoman for the Iowa Department of Public Health. Frequent hand washing is the best way to combat influenza viruses, she said.
The swine scare is also affecting the pork industry. On Tuesday, the price of pork had dropped $5 over three days in the future’s market, a national auction market where people buy and sell products for a future date, said John Lawrence, an Iowa State University agricultural economics professor.
Lawrence said he and traders believe the dip comes from consumers who believe the swine flu is in hogs. But that conception is false, he said.
“There is no way you can get this particular influenza from eating pork,” said Ron Birkenholz, communications director for the Iowa Pork Producers Association. “The virus is not in U.S. swine herds or in Iowa swine herds.”
Birkenholz said pork producers have placed tight restrictions on swine facilities so the animals don’t catch the virus. These include urging the public to stay away from swine facilities, keeping swine workers who have recently traveled internationally away from the pigs, and enforcing strict sick-leave policies for workers who exhibit flu-like symptoms.
Internationally, New Zealand, Canada, Spain, and Mexico have reported outbreaks.
Gray said he suspects people may cancel their travel plans abroad.
Winebrenner Red Carpet Travel general manager Terry Tegen agreed.
Tegen said he has spoken with a few customers concerned about vacationing in Mexico.
“Fortunately, this didn’t happen before spring break,” he said. “This is not as big as a situation for the United States as it would have been a few months ago.”
At the UI, public-health professors teach students about communicable diseases, including influenza, and how to prevent them from spreading. But until the panic becomes a pandemic, officials said, it’s too soon to specifically teach students about the swine virus.
“If at any point swine flu would become an epidemic in the state of Iowa or pandemic, surely we will discuss it,” said Kathleen Hanson, associate dean for the College of Nursing. “We’re still in the watch-and-see mode.”
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