The H1N1 flu could be more moderate than expected this year, Lyon County commissioners learned during their Wednesday study session.
Lyon County Health Officer Ann Mayo spoke to commissioners about the H1N1 and seasonal flu, which are two separate types of illnesses. Mayo said Emporia is in a unique situation because it has a college, a transient population, people who travel to Mexico and Emporia is a transportation corridor.
“Because of that we are a little bit more vulnerable,” Mayo said.
However, the H1N1 flu could be milder than expected, Mayo added.
“It is, however, still present,” she said.
Mayo provided some statistics during her presentation. She said worldwide, 160 countries on all the continents have had outbreaks of the H1N1 Flu. As of earlier this week, there had been 5,550 hospitalizations and 353 deaths in the United States. Forty-one counties in Kansas have had lab-confirmed cases of the flu and there has been one positive case in Lyon County with no deaths.
Mayo said vaccination development is coming along and testing is ongoing. Availability is expected in the fall. The Lyon County Health Department will be doing some proactive educational events at schools and other places to help prevent the spread of the flu, both H1N1 and seasonal.
“One of most important things going to be doing in schools is health etiquette,” Mayo said.
Health etiquette includes covering coughs and sneezes and washing hands often.
How many shots people will need to help prevent the seasonal and H1N1 flu this year is unclear, Mayo said. However, immunizations are expected earlier.
In other business:
• Jeff Cope, Lyon County Courthouse security, discussed the fitness proposal for Lyon County employees. Cope said he sees the proposal as a cost-savings issue. However, the cost savings won’t be immediate. Results will be seen a few years down the road. Cope said the fitness program proposal will save on health insurance down the road. Commissioners moved the item under other business.
F Robert Sullivan, Community Corrections, discussed grant assurances for the FY2010 Justice Assistance Grant. Sullivan discussed applying for a grant with John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Disproportionate Minority Contact Action Network. Sullivan is applying for $17,000 through the grant and the bulk of that will go to cultural competence training.
callalily (anonymous) says...
What does that mean - "milder than expected?" It seems to me that most people here don't even have this pandemic on their radar, much less have any expectations.
By the way, those numbers are completely wrong. The CDC site says there were 6,506 hospitalizations and 436 deaths in the U.S. as of August 6th.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
August 13, 2009 at 11:21 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
callalily (anonymous) says...
Update: as of August 13th: 7,511 hospitalizations, and 477 deaths.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
August 14, 2009 at 7:22 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )