Ready or not?
For local agencies, swine flu crisis is now a waiting game
By Larry Meyer
Argus Observer
Wednesday, April 29, 2009 11:00 AM PDT
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| Area agencies, such as the Malheur County Health Department, are prepared and ready to respond if the swine flu crisis touches the region. |
ONTARIO — In Malheur County, swine flu has translated into a waiting game.
Waiting to see if someone comes down with the new flu.
Waiting to see where new cases crop up across the nation.
Waiting to see if all the crisis preparations from the past pay off.
Local officials, though, say they are ready to respond to an outbreak should it occur, but also caution that there is no reason to panic.
In Idaho the results of three samples tested for swine flu were negative but more samples from Gem state residents have been sent in to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and are being tested, Laurie Boston, Southwest District Health public information officer, said.
Also, two of the first three samples were collected beyond the recommended 48-hour time frame, so the results of those tests are questionable, she said.
“We’re definitely not out of the woods yet,” she said.
Oversight is the key word for the Malheur County Health Department according to director Penny Walters.
“We’re just doing active surveillance — being ready and watching,” Walter said Tuesday.
While there is no vaccine for this new flu virus, there are anti-viral drugs available to treat people who come down with the malady, and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to make sure it is evenly distributed, Walters said.
“We’re having daily conferences with the Oregon Health Division,” Walters said. Also, she said, her office is obtaining information from the CDC.
As to whether the swine flu will come to Oregon, she said, “I wouldn’t put it past it happening here.” The Malheur County Health Department is the lead agency regarding a response to a county-wide health emergency, working in concert with the state health division. However, other county emergency services agencies, such as the sheriff’s office, have prepared for a pandemic-type crisis for years. Through meetings of a little-known group, called the Emergency Management Team, area agencies have discussed measures to meet an emergency such as a pandemic.
“We’ve been watching since the (situation) began a week ago,” Malheur County Sheriff Andy Bentz said. “The sheriff’s office has been in contact with the health department.”
The team consists of personnel from Holy Rosary Medical Center, other members of the medical community, fire departments, public works, nursing homes, the United States Bureau of Land Management, the Oregon Department of Transportation, road departments, education representatives and Ham Radio Operators.
“We started this a month after 9/11,” Bentz said. “It helps build relationships and understanding of how other agencies work and opened up and speeded up communication.”
