At a quarterly meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners, City of Grand Marais, Cook County Schools, and the Grand Portage Reservation on Thursday, August 27, 2009, Cook County Emergency Management Director Jim Wiinanen talked about countywide efforts to prepare for the possibility of an onslaught of the H1N1 virus, otherwise known as the swine flu.
Wiinanen said the state has been inundating him with information and warnings about the importance of preparing for a local outbreak of the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), H1N1 is a new flu virus that originated in pigs, first causing illness in Mexico and the United States in March and April of this year. On June 11, the World Health Organization indicated that a global pandemic was underway, but this was because of where and how quickly it was spreading, not the severity of illness.
Early studies conducted on the virus showed that about 43% of those who had the virus were five to 24 years old, 37% were 0-4 years old, 11% were 25-49 years old, 6% were 50-64 years old, and 2% were 65 or older.
Of the 8,843 people in the U.S. and its territories who had been hospitalized with the H1N1 virus between April and the last week of August, 556—or 6%— had died from it. More than 80% of those who died were between five and 65 years old. This is a departure from the death rate for regular seasonal influenza, in which 90% of the deaths occur among people age 65 and older.
One study showed that many people hospitalized with H1N1 had certain underlying medical conditions (such as asthma) that left them more vulnerable.
In June, more than 70 countries had reported cases of H1N1. According to the CDC website September 2, “The United States continues to report the largest number of novel H1N1 cases of any country worldwide, however, most people who have become ill have recovered without requiring medical treatment.”
Wiinanen said he has been told to prepare for the possibility of having one-third of the workforce out sick for about two weeks at a time—including doctors and nurses. County Personnel Director Janet Simonen pointed out that in a county this small, having several people trained for each job would be difficult.
At an August 20 hospital board meeting, Bridget Sobieck and Maintenance Director Rory Smith updated the board on their preparations for a possible pandemic. They are some of the numerous professionals throughout the county working with Wiinanen.
Wiinanen said he is looking for volunteers who could help staff an H1N1 treatment center that would be located away from the hospital.
Sobieck said H1N1 ranges in severity, with some fevers lasting a day and some returning for three weeks. Local health care workers are advising that people get the regular flu shot and then start on a series of two H1N1 vaccines in October, depending on availability.
According to the CDC, “It’s thought that novel influenza A (H1N1) flu spreads in the same way that regular seasonal influenza viruses spread, mainly through the coughs and sneezes of people who are sick with the virus, but it may also be spread by touching infected objects and then touching your nose or mouth.
“Novel H1N1 infection has been reported to cause a wide range of flu-like symptoms, including fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. In addition, many people also have reported nausea, vomiting and/or diarrhea.”
H1N1 can be treated with antiviral medication.
According to Sobieck, hospital personnel are preparing for an epidemic of 1918 proportions. “We plan for the worst and hope for the best,” she said.
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