Official Louisiana Swine Flu Thread

[spanky]

No, I do not support these fear tactics by the media but we do need to keep updated of goings-on around the state.

Here are a few documents that were sent to me for everyone to take a look at.

The Louisiana Pandemic Influenza Plan

Updated Swine Flu Fact Sheet

 

[TDH]

It would help if the links were active

 

[spanky]

They are.

 

[TDH]

They are.

You mean now they are

 

[nola_]

link for CDC updates, if anyone is interested:

http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

 

[LSUh20fowler]

Does anyone know what "phase" we are in ? My wife is a nurse. She told me last night that if we would ever happen to hit a phase 5 or 6, places like hospitals, nursing homes, etc. would be locked down to minimize exposure. Meaning if she was on duty at the time, she would not be allowed to leave until further notice. Is that possible? I'd have a hard time accepting someone telling my wife she can't leave her job. Probably would get me in trouble.

 

[jimdana1942]

WHO declared phase 5 few days ago.

 

[nola_]

WHO declared phase 5 few days ago.

I think he meant "phase" according to Louisiana's plan.

I should know for sure on monday, if anyone else knows, post.

 

[Cat]

Oh cool. Thanks for the "official" thread Spanky.

I think we would still have normal operational procedure until we have a confirmed case.

My big question that I have not heard is are the five Lafayette kids and four others still in the backlog of testing, or have they been declared negative for H1N1? In either case, I'm assuming they are still at home recuperating since there hasn't been any media updates on their condition.

The numbers aren't as scary as the lack of information about just how sick these individuals are in the US. Are any of them in the hospital, have any of them been declared "cured"... There's a difference between 300 people sitting at home with the sniffles and 300 in ICU.

 

[sawfish]

Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals Swine Flu Page

www.flula.com

 

[sawfish]

This was from yesterday:

NEWS RELEASE
Friday, May 01, 2009

Governor Jindal and State Officials Give Update on Possible H1N1 Flu Cases in LA

Louisiana State Seal

State of Louisiana
Office of the Governor
GOVERNOR BOBBY JINDAL


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 1, 2009
Press Office: Melissa Sellers, Kyle Plotkin
Contact: 225-342-8006, (c) 225-328-3755
Baton Rouge: Governor Bobby Jindal and state officials held a press conference to give an update on eight possible H1N1 (swine flu) cases in Louisiana and what precautions the state is taking to prevent against the further spread of illness.

Governor Jindal said that the state has now received a total of 148 unique samples to test for the H1N1 virus. The eight suspected cases in four parishes (Orleans, Lafayette, St. Martin and St. Tammany) could not be identified by the Office of Public Health laboratory in New Orleans and have been sent to the CDC lab in Atlanta for confirmation.

Governor Jindal said, “I want to be clear that at this time we still have NO confirmed cases in Louisiana. We expect results to come in from the CDC in two to four days on each of these cases. In the meantime, we are urging Louisianians to continue to use caution against the spread of illness. Wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough, and if you do experience flu-like symptoms, contact your doctor and stay away from large public areas.”

The Governor said that state epidemiological teams are currently onsite in all four parishes conducting investigations on the suspected cases. All family members, friends and contacts of the suspected cases are being swabbed and interviewed.

The Governor also said that the state has begun prepositioning the federal stockpile of antiviral resources – totaling 140,000 courses. Health officials stressed that the federal stockpiles supply are a backup option, and that medical officials should continue to order supplies of the antiviral from private pharmacies as they usually would. The federal resources will be used if private antiviral resources run low. The Governor said that the National Guard is working with State Police to preposition these federal supplies in the state, so they can be available if needed.

Governor Jindal said that those individuals who have an existing heart or respiratory condition should take special precautions at this time, just as they would during any flu season, by avoiding large groups of people. He said this is different than an average flu season because the swine flu is a new virus that individuals would not be able to vaccinate themselves against, as immunocompromised individuals would usually do to prevent against the flu.

SCHOOL GUIDANCE

Governor Jindal said that the U.S. Department of Education today recommended that any schools with a CONFIRMED swine flu case should consider closing for seven days (out from the last positive test result of a student). While there are still no confirmed cases of the swine flu in Louisiana, the Governor said state officials recommend that local schools who may have a student come down with flu-like symptoms contact their local Office of Public Health to determine the best course of action for their students.

GOHSEP ACTION

The Governor said that GOHSEP has been elevated to a Level 4 activation, which means a partial activation of the emergency command structure that will stay in close contact with local officials across the state and consult with them on possible cases. GOHSEP’s Joint Information Center was also activated today.

DOA ACTION

The Division of Administration will be sending a message to all state employees and supervisors to give guidance for how they should prepare to continue their operations while requesting that employees experiencing flu- like symptoms stay at home either on sick leave (if they are sick) or work from home, as needed.

DSS ACTION

The Department of Social Services is communicating precautions and protocols to their 75 group homes to prevent against the possible spread of the virus, and they are also taking necessary actions to protect the health of the 5,000 children under their supervision in foster care.

DOC ACTION

The Department of Corrections is closing visitations to state prisons for the next 14 days, as a precautionary measure to prevent against the possible spread of illness. They are also stopping tours and non-emergency trips, and minimizing transportation. They will have no transfers of inmates for 14 days, and have worked with state officials to suspend parole hearings for one week.

PROTECTING YOUR FAMILY

Governor Jindal stressed again that Louisianians take precautions to protect themselves against the spread of illness. To prevent against the spread of germs:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

Avoid close contact with sick people.

If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.

Symptoms of swine flu include:

Fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. If you are experiencing these symptoms – Consult your doctor as soon as possible.

For more information on swine flu you can visit www.flula.com.

 

[nola_]

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/louisiana_has_20_possible_swin.html

Louisiana has 20 possible swine flu cases; Jindal to update situation at 5 p.m.

Saturday May 02, 2009, 1:47 PM
BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana health officials say 11 new possible cases of the swine flu are under investigation.

The cases come from Orleans, Acadia, Beauregard and Lafayette parishes. That brings to 20 the total number of possible cases, meaning they could not be positively identified by a state laboratory and have been sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab in Atlanta.

No cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Louisiana.

Of the possible cases, two are from Orleans Parish, 13 are from Lafayette Parish, and one each come from St. Tammany, Acadia, Ascension, Beauregard and St. Martin parishes.

Governor Bobby Jindal is scheduled to hold a press conference at 5 p.m. today in Baton Rouge to provide the latest update of swine flu in Louisiana.

 

[ChordsBail]

Last I heard (not paying much attention it's just the flue people!!) we are at level 4 whatever that means and that was yesterday (Saturday)......Hey I could be completely off, but the flue strain (any kind) is only going to kill children and OLD people b/c of their weak immune system, just like the regular flue kills babies and OLD people every year, I think most everyone is ok and just watch your kids!!!!

 

[nola_]

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/05/seven_cases_of_swine_flu_confi.html

Seven cases of swine flu confirmed in Louisiana, including one in New Orleans

by Ed Anderson, The Times-Picayune
Sunday May 03, 2009, 1:30 PM

The state has confirmed seven cases of the swine flu in Louisiana, including one in New Orleans.

Five cases are in Lafayette Parish, one is in Ascension Parish and one is in New Orleans, according to state officials. The New Orleans case is an eight-year-old boy who is a student at Audubon Charter School, officials said.

The state sent nine cases for testing and two of them came back negative.

The Lafayette cases are all students at Cathedral Carmel school. The Ascension Parish case is a student at Lake Elementary School.

None of the seven confirmed cases required hospitalization. All seven people are being treated at home on antiviral medication.

The two cases that were not swine flu were in St. Tammany and St. Martin parishes.

Gov. Bobby Jindal will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m. today to provide more details.

 

[lurkerwisp]

If you use twitter, the CDC is very good about speedy updates from their feed.

 

[CEHollier]

No that I am paranoid but... I ate breakfast at Highland/I-10 Waffle House this morning. It was packed and I had to sit at the bar. A lady and her son who looked around 8 yo sat by me. Then the kid starts coughing. Luckily his back was to me while he coughed all over his mom. Next time I will turn and walk out.

 

[nola_]

Coincidnce that the announcement comes on the last day of Jazz Fest?

 

[spanky]

Coincidnce that the announcement comes on the last day of Jazz Fest?

Does seem a bit convenient that it comes at the end and not the beginning.

 

[CZowner07]

Seven confirmed cases in Louisiana, FIVE in Lafayette.
http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=10294065

Release from Department of Health and Hospitals:

State officials received official confirmation today from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that, of the nine cases originally submitted for confirmation, seven have been confirmed for the H1N1 flu (swine flu) virus. Two of the submitted tests are negative.




Five of the cases the CDC confirmed for the H1N1 flu virus are in Lafayette Parish, one is in Ascension Parish and one is in Orleans Parish. All of the seven cases confirmed for the H1N1 virus are being treated on antivirals and are at home. None are in the hospital.




DHH Secretary Alan Levine said, "We have been treating every suspect case as if it could be the H1N1 virus and have acted appropriately to recommend school closures when necessary. The most important thing at this point is to prevent any potential for spreading the virus. DHH has been giving guidance to physicians, parents and school officials to aggressively treat all these cases and prevent the further spread of illness. Our physicians and epidemiologists remain on the ground and in close contact with local officials and medical professionals in these areas."




All five CDC-confirmed cases in Lafayette Parish are students at Cathedral Carmel School, which the state took aggressive preventative action to close Wednesday. Based on evidence collected by DHH's disease surveillance specialists, including a direct link to Mexico, the state worked to close the school before the cases were even tested to help prevent the spread of illness.




The Ascension case is a student at Lake Elementary School and the Orleans case is a student at Audubon Charter School in New Orleans. The Orleans Parish student does have a direct link to Mexico. The case in Ascension Parish has not been linked to Mexico by state epidemiologists investigating the case, at this time. State officials continue to advise that these two schools can remain open, as the students in these schools ha! ve both been absent for a while and no other students are experiencing flu-like symptoms at this time.


State epidemiologists are continuing to work with schools and families in these communities to help prevent the spread of the virus where possible, and guidance may change as appropriate.




The two NEGATIVE test results from the CDC today were for the one case in St. Tammany Parish and one case in St. Martin Parish. Both of these cases were in older individuals, not students, and did not include any direct links to Mexico.




Confirmed Cases for the H1N1 virus in Louisiana

Ascension - 1

Lafayette - 5

Orleans - 1

TOTAL - 7




Negative Cases for H1N1 virus in Louisiana

St. Tammany - 1

St. Martin - 1

TOTAL - 2

 

[nola_]

Jindal: "These numbers will grow....."