Swine Flu Information - Washington St Dept of Health

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Updated 1:40 p.m., May 8, 2009

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888-703-4364

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Swine Flu Information

The Washington State Department of Health is in close contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) regarding swine influenza (H1N1) virus (or “swine flu”) in parts of the United States, Canada and Mexico. The department is working closely with local health agencies around the state to monitor cases of pneumonia and influenza to see if they’re due to this new infection.

Health care providers and laboratories in Washington have been asked to watch for influenza, especially in people who traveled to Mexico or other affected areas.

News releases from the Washington State Department of Health:

May 5, 2009 - CDC confirms nine Washington swine flu cases positive for new H1N1 strain

Spanish Version (PDF)

May 2, 2009 -- Swine flu (H1N1) antiviral medications to arrive in Washington

Spanish Version (PDF)

April 29, 2009 -- State identifies six probable swine flu (H1N1) cases in Washington

Spanish Version (PDF)

April 28, 2009 -- State to receive federal shipment of medication to treat swine flu

Spanish Version (PDF)

Swine Flu Video

Mary Selecky on TVW

Case Counts

Swine Flu (H1N1) samples and cases (Updated at 3:00 p.m. daily)

What are the symptoms of swine flu?

Human symptoms for this new type of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of the regular “seasonal” influenza that happens each year. Symptoms include fever, cough and sore throat. In addition, fatigue, lack of appetite, runny nose, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea have been reported.

Fact sheets from the Department of Health

Swine Flu Fact Sheet

English Spanish (PDF) Arabic (PDF) Burmese (PDF)

Chinese (PDF) Korean (PDF) Large type (PDF) Nepalese (PDF)

Russian (PDF) Somali (PDF) Tagalog (PDF) Vietnamese (PDF)

Cleaning and Disinfecting Surfaces

English (PDF) Spanish (PDF) Chinese (PDF) Korean (PDF)

Large type (PDF) Russian (PDF) Tagalog (PDF) Vietnamese (PDF)

Swine Flu Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to frequently asked questions about prevention, travel, masks and much more.

English Spanish (PDF)

Are there cases of this new swine flu in Washington State?

Washington now has several confirmed cases of swine flu (H1N1).

Local health departments, health care providers and labs have been asked to watch for influenza A cases, especially in people who recently traveled to Mexico or states with cases of human swine flu.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has determined that the swine flu virus causing mild illness in some states is the same strain as the virus causing an outbreak of respiratory illness among humans in some areas of Mexico.

Current status of outbreak

To find out which states have reported swine flu cases and the number of cases reported, see the CDC Web site - www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm) Cases have also been confirmed in the Canadian province of British Columbia. For information on these cases visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/health/

Swine flu infections have been documented in Mexico, but it is not yet known if all of the fatal or hospitalized respiratory illness cases are actually due to this swine flu. This is being investigated.

Has the government issued a travel advisory?

The CDC advises that people avoid all nonessential travel to Mexico. See the current travel health warning at: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/contentSwineFluMexico.aspx

Travelers should follow the same precautionary measures that are recommended to protect against seasonal influenza – frequent hand washing, covering coughs and sneezes, and staying home when ill. For more information: http://wwwn.cdc.gov/travel/

What do I do if I’ve been to areas affected by swine flu (H1N1) and I have symptoms?

If you have recently been to Mexico or affected areas in the U.S.--or if you have been near people who are ill with the flu--and you have symptoms of influenza such as fever, cough, and sore throat, you should contact your health care provider. Make sure to tell your health care professional about your travel history.

Preventing the spread of germs - outreach materials

Prevention tips - Help prevent the spread of germs. (Available in PDF format in: English, Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese.)

"Cover Your Cough" posters and brochures

"Cover Your Cough" brochure (PDF format, 267 KB)

"Cover Your Cough" poster (PDF format, 189 KB)

"Cubrase la boca al Toser" (PDF format, 560 KB)

"Be a Germ Buster" poster - Available for download in 10 languages.

Germ Trail television ad - Germ Trail is a television advertisement produced for the Washington State Department of Health promoting hand washing and covering your cough.

You can view the video by choosing one of the following formats: Windows Media Player; Real Media Player; (Time: 30 second)

Transcript of the "Germ Trail" video

What can I do now to prepare?

Although the current swine flu outbreak is not a pandemic, it is a good time to think about what to expect and how to prepare in case the situation changes. There are a number of resources to help you prepare:

Preparing for Pandemic Influenza – A personal and family guide from the Washington State Department of Health.

English or Spanish

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the Web— www.pandemicflu.gov

Spanish -- Informacion sobre la Influenza de 2009 - http://espanol.pandemicflu.gov/pandemicflu/enes/24/_www_pandemicflu_gov/

Individual planning - http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/index.html

Workplace planning - http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/workplaceplanning/index.html

Community - http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/community/index.html

Checklists for businesses, schools and more - http://www.pandemicflu.gov/plan/checklists.html

Links to other resources

Travel information - http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm#travel

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - www.cdc.gov/swineflu/investigation.htm;

World Health Organization - www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/index.html.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hotline at 1-800-CDC-INFO (232-4636).

For schools and parents

School closure status and other information for and about schools in the state from the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction: http://www.k12.wa.us/

CDC interim guidance for school dismissals: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/K12_dismissal.htm
"No Ordinary Flu" -- Available through the Department of Health, this educational comic book is offered to schools in English or Spanish, email us your order or download a PDF version (2,567K).

Other outreach materials are also available from the Department of Health. Please see the Preventing the Spread of Germs section above.

Information for parents and caregivers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/parents.htm

Home care

Taking Care of a Sick Person in Your Home - information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/guidance_homecare.htm

Home Care for Pandemic Flu from the American Red Cross (PDF, 42 KB). Spanish version (PDF, 206 KB

For health professionals

Information about reporting swine flu cases; submitting samples to laboratories; mitigation resources; guidance and other information for clinicians - http://www.doh.wa.gov/ehsphl/Epidemiology/CD/swineflu/sfluresources.htm

Volunteering to work in a health emergency