Sunday, April 26, 2009, 23:45 EDT (11:45 PM EDT)
CDCHAN-00283-2009-04-26-UPD-N
Situation Update:
As part of an ongoing investigation into
an outbreak of swine influenza A (H1N1) in the
CDC has activated its
In addition, clinicians should consider
swine influenza infection in the differential diagnosis of patients with acute
febrile respiratory illness who have either been in contact with persons with
confirmed swine flu, or who were in one of the five
Patients who meet these criteria should
be tested for influenza A, and specimens positive for
influenza A should be sent to public health laboratories for further
characterization. Clinicians who suspect that a patient has a swine influenza
virus infection should obtain a nasopharyngeal swab from the patient, place the
swab in a viral transport medium, refrigerate the specimen, and then contact
their state or local health department to facilitate transport and timely diagnosis
at a state public health laboratory. CDC requests that state public health
laboratories promptly send all influenza A specimens
that cannot be subtyped to the CDC, Influenza
Division, Virus Surveillance and Diagnostics Branch Laboratory.
This is a rapidly evolving situation and
guidance should be considered interim and will be updated frequently.
Newly
Available Guidance:
New
guidance is available at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/recommendations,
including:
·
Interim Guidance for Swine influenza A (H1N1): Taking Care
of a Sick Person in Your Home
·
Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Virus Biosafety
Guidelines for Laboratory Workers
·
Interim Guidance on Case Definitions to be Used For
Investigations of Swine Influenza A (H1N1) Cases
Strategic National
Stockpile Guidance:
Health directors should be aware that the
CDC Division of Strategic National Stockpile (DSNS) has been given the
authority from HHS and CDC leadership to initiate shipment of materiel for the
swine flu influenza outbreak. At this point, DSNS has been given permission to
release 25 percent of states and localities allocation of SNS held antiviral
drugs, personal protective equipment, and respiratory protection devices.
Realizing the significant quantity of materiel,
CDC Strategic National Stockpile personnel will be working with state and local
health department staff to ensure that CDC provides you with as much
flexibility as possible as we prepare to ship the first 25 percent of your
allocated materiel. SNS staff are currently in the
process of contacting state and local Preparedness Directors and SNS
Coordinators to facilitate the receipt of SNS allocated materiel.
For more information about swine flu: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu
Additional information is also available
by calling 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)
HAN Message Types
- Health Alert: Conveys the highest level of importance; warrants immediate action or attention. Example: HAN00001
- Health Advisory: Provides important information for a specific incident or situation; may not require immediate action. Example: HAN00316
- Health Update: Provides updated information regarding an incident or situation; unlikely to require immediate action. Example: HAN00309
- Info Service: Provides general information that is not necessarily considered to be of an emergent nature. Example: HAN00319
## This Message was distributed to State and Local Health Officers, Public Information Officers, Epidemiologists and HAN Coordinators as well as Clinician organizations ##
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- Content source: CDC Emergency Risk Communication Branch (ERCB), Division of Emergency Operations (DEO), Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (OPHPR)
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