Flu largely in check here, but precautions still urged

Spread of the H1N1 flu has slowed, and has somewhat faded from the public consciousness, but the virus is still with us.

At last check, the county had 17 current confirmed cases of swine flu, according to the Johnson County Health Office.

The first case in the county was reported in May, and numbers have been hovering this summer in the mid teens.

Nancy Tausz, disease containment division director for the health office, said the situation is monitored daily.

"We continue to follow up on specimens from hospitals and send them to the state for confirmation," Tausz said.

The office also regularly receives reports of cases or suspected cases from summer camps and physician offices, which call in symptoms.

Concern about spread of the virus within schools ceased when classes closed for summer, but the camps are watched closely and workplace prevention and containment remains a focus.

"We have tried to get out the word to people that they should go home if they have symptoms. If you stay at work when you're sick it's just going to spread," Tausz said.

While spread of the flu has slowed, as it typically does during summer months, serious concern remains about what will happen this fall and winter.

Nationally, efforts are under way to develop a vaccine for the H1N1 influenza. If approved for distribution, vaccinations will begin in October, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Meanwhile, health officials still are encouraging people to take steps to prevent spread of the disease. In addition to staying home when sick, the primary actions suggested are:

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and warm water or use an alcohol-based sanitizer.
• Cough or sneeze into your elbow or a tissue, and properly dispose of used tissues.
• Stay healthy by eating a balanced diet, drinking plenty of water and getting adequate rest and exercise.

Symptoms of the disease are a fever of greater than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat, respiratory congestion, and in some cases diarrhea and vomiting.

For more information or questions, contact the Johnson County Health Department, which is the lead agency for Johnson County, at 477-8316.

Contact Loren Stanton at 385-6068, or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Write comment