Oregon Public Broadcasting

As the U.S. reacts to news about to the swine flu outbreak, here in Oregon health officials are also taking precautions.
Kristian Foden-Vencil reports that doctors are checking  for the illness, and the state is gathering masks and drugs.

Health officials say there have been no instances of Swine Flu in Oregon and no spike in respiratory illnesses.  But state epmiologist, Doctor Mel Kohn, says they are asking a network of 25 clinicians to take swabs from patients who exhibit flu-like symptoms.

Mel Kohn: “So we are asking those folks to culture anyone who comes in with an illness like that. Particularly if they’ve been in contact with places where we have known swine flu.”

Those symptoms include a fever, aches, chills and tiredness. And Kohn says he wouldn't be surprised if a few cases are found locally over the next few days.

Mel Kohn: “This is an issue that we’ve been preparing for, for several years. Because we believe that we are overdue as a nation, and for the world, for a pandemic. And we have been trying to put together plans to try to prepare for a pandemic. What I mean by a pandemic is a very widespread, in fact global outbreak of flu, that can be very dangerous.”

But, Kohn notes, while people have died of the swine flu in Mexico, in the U.S., they’re only falling ill -- prompting him to question whether there's maybe something else at play.

Mel Kohn: “As it stands now, the illnesses that we’ve seen in the U.S. are more or less of the same severity that we see during the wintertime flu outbreaks that we see every year. I say more or less of the same severity, but those are still serious outbreaks. We have about 30,000 deaths from influenza per year in the US. This is not a trivial thing and it’s a disease we need to take seriously.”

Both Oregon and Washington have asked the federal government for the masks and drugs that are stockpiled for a pandemic.

In addition, Oregon health officials are asking out-patient providers what they’re seeing and they’re checking with call-nurses to see what phone inquiries are coming in.

Andy Van Pelt of the Oregon Hospital Association says all 58 hospitals in the state are also talking to each other about what they see.

Andy Van Pelt: “We’re kind of being a conduit of information for both federal and state officials in working with hospitals in preparing their own communities or their patients as they begin to recognize possible symptoms of the swine flu.”

Meanwhile, all the usual warnings apply for avoiding the flu:  wash your hands regularly; avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth; and if you are sick, stay home from work.