Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
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Martinsville, Virginia 24115
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Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
The H1N1 flu virus can be spread in two ways, both by air and by contact, according to a health official who talked about the illness Monday at Hardin Reynolds Memorial School in Critz.
The virus is airborne when an infected person coughs or sneezes and droplets are released into the air, according to Bonnie Feldt, an epidemiologist with the Virginia Department of Health. Droplets can travel three to six feet, she said, but because droplets are heavy, they most often “drop out of the air quickly.”
That is one reason health officials recommend sneezing or coughing into a sleeve or tissue, rather than covering a cough with a hand, she said. The other is because the virus can survive on surfaces for up to eight hours.
If, for example, an infected person covers his cough with his hand and then touches a doorknob or telephone, those items might become contaminated, Feldt said. As a precaution, health officials recommend frequent hand-washing for durations of at least 20 seconds, she said. Hand sanitizers also can be effective as long as the hands are not “visibly soiled” with mucous, she said.
H1N1, also known as swine flu, is “just a different strain” of the seasonal flu that circulates each year, Feldt said. “Most people have been exposed or vaccinated” to the seasonal flu, so there is some immunity, she said.
A vaccine is required each year because the strain of flu changes each year, she said. An H1N1 vaccine should offer protection for about six months, she added.
There was “a big change this year” as the human, avian and swine flu genes “all mixed together” to produce the H1N1 novel flu virus, Feldt said. “There has never been a vaccine for this particular type” of flu before, she added.
A similar type of flu appeared several decades ago, Feldt said. Because of that, health officials believe that people between the ages of 50 and 60 might have some immunity to the H1N1 strain.
“The majority of people it’s affecting are under the age of 49. That’s why we’re pushing” to get the vaccine distributed, particularly to children, she said.
Fever is the main symptom of the flu, Feldt said. Others include sore throat, cough, body aches, fatigue and irritations of the respiratory system.
The onset of H1N1 is “usually pretty quick,” Feldt said. Once a person is exposed, symptoms usually begin in one to seven days, but generally in three to five days, she said.
Once infected, a person can infect others for up to 24 hours before symptoms begin and up to 24 hours after a fever has returned to normal without the use of a fever reducer, Feldt said.
Health officials not only recommend staying home if you are ill, but also staying in another room, such as a bedroom, to minimize contact with other family members, Feldt said.
Masks are not effective in preventing the spread of flu except on health care providers who undergo a “special fitting” that is an “extensive process,” Feldt said.
Sick patients in waiting rooms might be asked to wear masks, Feldt said, adding that health officials recommend calling a doctor before going to a hospital or doctor’s office for treatment.
Antibiotics are not used to treat H1N1 because it is a virus. However, they might be needed if bronchitis or other respiratory infections are present, Feldt said.
There are some anti-viral medications, such as Tamiflu, but they are most effective if administered within the first 24 hours, Feldt said. Anti-virals generally are not prescribed unless a patient has complications, such as asthma, she said. Otherwise, doctors “treat the symptoms more than they treat the illness.”
Health officials recommend getting the vaccine in either shot form or nasal mist, she said. Because the mist goes directly into the respiratory system quickly, it offers more rapid protection and is safe for healthy persons aged 2 to 49 years old, Feldt said. An injection is recommended for people outside that age group or those with asthma or other underlying health concerns.
“The shot is a completely dead virus” and typically is administered in the arm, Feldt said. It can be given in the leg of a younger child. The mist is sprayed in each nostril, she added.
The vaccine is recommended even for those who have had the flu, Feldt said. That is because doctors aren’t always doing tests to distinguish between swine flu and seasonal flu, and having one does not protect a person from getting the other. Also, getting the vaccine will not hurt someone who has had H1N1, Feldt said, adding that it will act as a booster.
Both types of vaccine soon will be available in Patrick County Schools, but officials do not yet know the exact date, she said, adding it depends on when they become available.
Health officials will begin administering the vaccine in some Henry County schools today, according to schools spokesman Melany Stowe.
Vaccines will be administered in some Martinsville schools beginning Nov. 4, city school officials said Monday.
All three school systems are requiring parents to sign consent forms before their children may be vaccinated. Hardin Reynolds Principal Ann Fulcher asked parents Monday to return the forms as soon as possible because the number of parents requesting vaccines for their children will help school officials determine how many doses they need.
By next year, Feldt expects the H1N1 vaccine to be included with the regular seasonal flu vaccine. And, she said, “in five years, it will be a seasonal flu.” |
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