Iowans told to take swine flu precautions

DES MOINES – While Iowa has no confirmed cases of the potentially deadly swine flu, state public health officials said Monday some cases are likely to occur so Iowans should take precautionary steps to prevent an outbreak.

 “This is not a time for alarm; rather, this is a time for prevention and for caution,” Gov. Chet Culver told a Statehouse news conference where public health officials said Iowa has no confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu.

“On the state level, we continue to monitor the situation and take every step to prevent an outbreak from occurring within our borders,” he added. “Even though there are no confirmed cases in Iowa, we take this very seriously and we will continue to do so until the issue is resolved.”

There have been 40 cases confirmed so far in five U.S. states -- California, Kansas, New York, Ohio and Texas -- following an outbreak in Mexico where 84 people have died and more than 1,400 cases have been reported.

As a precautionary move, Tom Newton, director of the state Department of Public Health, said Iowa officials have ordered increased statewide surveillance for people with flu-like symptoms and any suspected cases are required to be reported to public health officials.

“I think there's a pretty good potential that we'll have some cases,” he said.

Newton noted that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after declaring a national public health emergency last weekend, has released 25 percent of the federal anti-viral medication stockpile. Iowa currently has a stockpile of 400,000 courses that will be used for treatment if necessary, he said.

Public health officials are not advising people to get traditional flu shots because swine flu is a different strain and currently there is no preventive vaccine, although federal officials are working to develop one, Newton said. There is a testing procedure that can confirm swine flu that has a minimum turnaround for results of from eight hours up to one day.

Iowa officials said swine flu is transmitted by airborne or human to human contact, but cannot be contracted from food or pork products. The best defense is frequent hand washing and “careful” sneezing, health officials said.

State officials also have enhanced veterinary activities, planning for various levels of animal disease surveillance and outreach. As of Monday, state Department of Agriculture & Land Stewardship said Iowa's swine population is healthy. Also, no hogs in Iowa come from Mexico.

Newton advised anyone who comes down with flu-like symptoms to contact their physician by phone but not to show up unannounced at a clinic or doctor's office. They also should stay away from work or school until the symptoms subside.

Symptoms of swine influenza include fever greater than 100, along with a cough, sore throat, headache and body aches, and extreme tiredness. Some people also have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu.