Brian Vanderhoff's North Fulton Real Estate Blog

A top-ranking official of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says production of a vaccine for swine flu virus is behind schedule and people should take precautionary steps to prevent its spread.

Dr. Anne Schuchat (SHU'-kit) said "more vaccine is coming out every day" but production isn't where it was expected to be at this juncture. Interviewed on CBS's "The Early Show" Wednesday, Schuchat said "we wish we had more vaccine, but unfortunately the virus and the production of the vaccine aren't really cooperating."

For people anxious about getting their vaccinations, she said officials expect "widespread availability" by mid-November. Schuchat heads the Atlanta-based CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.



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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
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Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: CDC, H1N1, swine flu

Starting Monday, it'll be much easier for some Georgians to get the H1N1 vaccine.


Health departments in Cherokee, Fannin, Gilmer, Murray, Pickens and Whitfield counties will open clinics that will provide the vaccine at no charge.

However an administrative fee may be charged through Medicare/Medicaid or your third-party insurance.

Related Link: http://sendss.state.ga.us/sendss/!immuprov_track.h1n1_prov_locator

Vaccinations will be provided to healthy people -- ages two to 24 -- on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more information call your county health department

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Brian and Jennifer Vanderhoff
North Fulton County REALTORS
Vanderhoff Real Estate
(770) 888-9269
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Milton, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
North Fulton County, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
Forsyth, GA Real Estate, Condos, Homes for Sale
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Labels: Flu Shots, H1N1, swine flu, vaccine

Health care workers, emergency medical personnel, pregnant women and healthy people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old are among the target groups to receive the vaccine against the H1N1 virus when it first becomes available. That’s one of several recommendations approved Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices.

The recommendations are based upon completion of clinical trials and when a safe vaccine is available. Five companies are making the vaccine, which officials hope will be available in October. That may not be soon enough to satisfy parents, though, since schools begin next month in Georgia.

The committee met for several hours at the CDC to set guidelines for a national vaccine program against swine flu, as it is commonly called. If demand exceeds supply, priority should be given to subgroups within those groups including pregnant women, people younger than 19 with chronic medical conditions, and health care and emergency service personnel with direct contact with patients or infectiousness materials.

Jeremy Arieh, a spokesman for the Georgia Nurses Association, said the group supports the vaccination of health care professionals against the novel H1N1 virus. “Health care workers are on the front lines,” he said. “It’s a good practice as long as we don’t get into a situation of mandatory vaccinations.”

There have been 43,771 lab-identified cases of the virus, 302 deaths and more than 5,000 hospitalizations in the United States. Although not all sick patients are being tested for swine flu, health officials estimate that more than 1 million people have been infected.

Labels: CDC, foreclosure, Foreclosures, swine flu

Health officials have confirmed two cases of H1N1 (Swine Flu) in Fulton County. One case involves a 6-year-old girl from Roswell. The child attends kindergarten at Amana Academy, a Fulton County Public Charter School. The child was not hospitalized. The second case involves a 54-year-old male from Roswell with a travel history that includes Mexico. He was not hospitalized. Both cases are mild and unrelated to one another and both individuals have already recovered.

“We want to assure the public that we are well prepared and the public’s health is well protected,” said Fulton County Manager Zachary Williams. “The Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness has been diligent in their education efforts in the community and has been working closely with the state and the CDC throughout this matter.”

Currently, Fulton County Health Department officials are confirming there are no more probable cases of H1N1 in Fulton County at this time. Additionally, the Fulton County Department of Health and Wellness is continuously in communication with the Georgia Division of Public Health and the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) to identify any new cases, and advise healthcare providers and the public regarding potential cases in Fulton County.

Fulton County health officials are recommending that residents take the following proactive measures to protect themselves and their families from H1N1:

Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Discard the tissue after you use it.
If you do not have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your elbow and not your hand. This can help prevent germs from spreading.
Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.

For more information, please call the Fulton County H1N1 Hotline at 404-730-6522 or 404-730-1211 or 404-730-1279.

Labels: Alpharetta, Fulton County, Roswell, swine flu

Though no cases have been reported in North Fulton, Forsyth or Gwinnett counties, precautions still should be taken against swine flu. Here are the facts on the virus.

A swine flu hotline that provides information and advice has been set up.

The number is 404-730-6522.

What is swine flu?

Swine influenza is a respiratory disease of pigs cause by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks happen regularly in pigs, and people do not normally get swine flu. However, human infections can and do happen in people who are around pigs. It is also possible for swine flu to pas from person to person. It is not known how easily the virus spreads between people.

What are the symptoms?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have also reported diarrhea and vomiting. Like seasonal flu, swine flu may cause a worsening of underlying medical conditions.

How serious is infection?

Swine flu in humans can range from mild to sever. Between 2005 and January 2009, 12 cases of human swine flu were detected in the US with no deaths.

How long can a person with swine flu infect others?

People with the infection should be considered potentially contagious as long as they are symptomatic and for up to seven days following illness onset. Children, especially young children, might be contagious for longer.

Can I get it by eating pork?

No. Swine influenza viruses are not spread by food.

Protect yourself

According to the CDC, the common sense actions people can take to stay healthy include:

• Washing hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners/hand sanitizers are also effective.

• Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

• Avoiding close contact with sick people.

• Keeping sick children (and staff members) at home until their illness has run its course

– Courtesy Fulton County Health and Human Services Department of Health and Wellness – Division of Epidemiology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.

Labels: swine flu

Harvard Medical School has written an article that explains the disease, its origins, treatment and dangers. Plus, learn about symptoms of the flu and precautions to help keep you healthy. Their article answers all your FAQs about swine flu to debunk rumors and help you rest easy.

By Harvard Medical School

An epidemic of swine flu has recently developed in Mexico and the United States, says the CDC. Swine flu has killed many people, and the outbreak has features that suggest it could become a global pandemic. A pandemic is an epidemic that spreads around the whole world. Pandemics also often cause more severe disease than epidemics.

As of Sunday, April 26, the United States has declared a public health emergency, and suspect or confirmed cases are being reported from many parts of the world. If a pandemic happens, it could be very serious for human health and the global economy (which definitely does not need any more bad news right now).

Q: What are "swine flu" and "bird flu"?

A: Flu is a disease caused by the influenza virus. Humans, pigs, birds, and other animals all can be infected by influenza viruses. Typically, influenza viruses can infect only one species, so the influenza viruses of humans are different from those of pigs and birds. However, sometimes a virus can infect more than one species. For example, pigs sometimes can be infected not only with pig influenza viruses, but also with human and bird influenza viruses. Then these viruses can sidle up to one another and swap genes, creating new viruses that have a mix of genes—from human, pig, and bird viruses. That is what has happened with this new swine flu virus.

Sometimes this swapping of genes allows a virus that was originally able to infect only pigs or only birds to also infect humans. When that happens, we refer to the illness as "swine flu" or "bird flu." This current virus could actually be called "swine/bird flu," since it has some genes from pig flu viruses and other genes from bird flu viruses. However, for simplicity sake, it is just being referred to as "swine flu."

Q: Are swine flu or bird flu viruses dangerous?

A: Most viruses that cause swine flu or bird flu are very hard to pass from one human to another: they don't cause epidemics. Sometimes, however, further changes in genes create a virus that can spread rapidly among humans, and can produce a more severe illness. One reason this illness is more severe is that the virus is so new. The regular flu that comes each year is caused by a regular human influenza virus that often has similarities to the viruses that have caused the flu in years past, so people have some degree of immunity to the latest virus. The unusual swine flu or bird flu viruses that develop the ability for person-to-person spread are so different that people have little or no immunity to them. That is what some experts worry may be happening with swine flu.

Q: How bad can a global pandemic be?

A: The worst global pandemic in modern times was the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919. It affected about a third of the human race, and killed at least 40 million people in less than a year—more than have been killed by AIDS in three decades. The world economy went into a deep recession. The average length of life dropped for 10 years. In other words, global pandemics can be a really big deal. On the other hand, other pandemics have been considerably less serious than the 1918 to1919 influenza pandemic.

Q: Can this new swine flu virus be easily transmitted from person to person?

A: Unfortunately, the new swine flu virus can be transmitted between humans. It is not clear yet how easily it is transmitted, nor how it is transmitted. Almost surely it is transmitted by sneezing and coughing, and by skin-to-skin contact (like shaking hands or kissing) with an infected person.

Q: How sick do people get from this virus?

A: Most people infected with the virus have recovered from the illness. In fact, all of the people in the U.S. have recovered.

However, in Mexico, some people have kept getting sicker, and eventually died. The regular flu viruses that come each winter can occasionally cause severe illness and death. Most often, this happens in very young children or frail elderly people. What worries some experts is that many of the deaths in Mexico have been in young, healthy adults. In past pandemics, like the influenza pandemic of 1918 to 1919, it was also young, healthy people who were most likely to die. Experts are puzzled as to why the infection currently appears to be worse in Mexico than in the U.S.

Q: Are there treatments?

A: As of now, the new virus is killed by two antiviral medicines—oseltamivir and zanamivir. Based on experience with other flu viruses, treatment would be most effective if given within 2 days of the onset of symptoms. As long as this current swine flu virus is infecting people, it is likely that health authorities will recommend that people with more severe illness take these medicines.

On the other hand, there is no proven benefit from using the medicines before symptoms develop, and there is proven harm: unnecessary widespread use of these drugs could produce drug-resistant viruses.

There is no vaccine yet for the new virus, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has expressed doubt that this year's regular flu vaccine will offer protection.

Q: How do I know if I've caught swine flu?

A: The initial symptoms of this flu virus are like those of the regular, annual flu viruses: fever, muscle aches, runny nose, and sore throat. Nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea may be more common with this swine flu than with the regular flu. If this epidemic hits your community and you develop flu-like symptoms, it is likely your doctor will take samples from your throat or material you cough up and send them to the state public health laboratory for testing.

Q: How do I protect myself?

A: To protect yourself from catching swine flu, take the same steps you would to prevent getting any cold or flu:

Wash your hands or use alcohol-based hand cleaners frequently.

When you greet people, don't shake hands or exchange kisses.

Avoid contact with people with flu symptoms.

And to protect others, if you develop sneezing and coughing, be sure to use tissues to wipe your nose and cover your mouth, and to throw the tissues in the trash or toilet bowl.

Q: How long are people contagious?

A: Adults should be considered contagious until at least 7 days after the start of symptoms; with children, it may be 10 to 14 days.

Q: Can you get swine flu from eating pork?

A: Absolutely not. But, as you probably know, you need to cook pork thoroughly to avoid getting other illnesses that can be spread by undercooked meat.

Q: Will there be unusual restrictions on our lives if there is a global pandemic?

A: If there is a global pandemic, for some period of time, governments may well restrict travel (indeed, some governments already have). Governments also may close schools and public places, require as many people as possible to work from home, tell any people who develop symptoms to isolate themselves at home, and tell people to seek medical attention immediately if more serious symptoms develop. What are those symptoms?

For adults, teens, and kids age 3 to 12, the most worrisome symptoms are:

Shortness of breath

Persistent vomiting

Confusion

Dizziness

For children younger than 2, the most worrisome symptoms are:

Very rapid breathing

Not interacting normally, not eating or drinking normally, being unusually irritable, or appearing unusually sleepy

High fever and rash

A bluish color of the lips and skin

Labels: Georgia, harvard medical school, questions and answers, swine flu

So far no impact on Delta, AirTran service to Mexico

Although there have been no cases of swine flu in Georgia, state public health officials are stepping up their monitoring system and prevention efforts.

Doctors are being urged to consider the possibility of swine flu in patients with flu-like symptoms who have visited Mexico or the five states with confirmed cases, plus those who have come in contact with sick people from those areas.

Belen Moran, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Division of Public Health, said the agency is coordinating with all 18 public health districts, the state Emergency Management Agency, the Georgia Poison Center and hospitals.

The state public health lab has tested all influenza virus discovered this flu season, and as of Friday no swine flu had been found. Officials are recommending that people wash their hands often with soap and water, and stay home if they’re sick.

“We don’t have any cases in Georgia, but we don’t want people to take that for granted,” Moran said.

Meanwhile, Delta and AirTran, which have regularly scheduled flights between Atlanta and Mexico, haven’t changed screening procedures for flights to the country where dozens have been killed by swine flu.

But the airlines are in constant contact with the CDC about the situation.

Delta flies to Mexico three times a day from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, while AirTran flies three times a week.

“We are working directly with the CDC but at this point there has been no specific directive and no impact to our operations,” Delta spokesman Anthony Black said Sunday afternoon. “The report I’ve gotten is that operations are running normally.”

AirTran spokesman Christopher White said flight attendants are trained to “be on the lookout for any group of passengers with special symptoms,” adding that the airline is operating “at a normal state of alert.”

The swine flu outbreak might soon lead the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to recommend against travel to Mexico. So far, the CDC has issued a travel alert regarding Mexico.

“We might be getting to the point soon where we’re recommending against travel to Mexico — I don’t know that we’re there quite yet,” CDC spokesman Tom Skinner said.

For those traveling to areas where swine flu has circulated, the agency also might issue yellow warning cards. The cards advise travelers to watch for the flu’s symptoms and see a doctor immediately if they exhibit any.

“Those are steps we might be taking here in the next few days,” Skinner said.

The CDC has confirmed eight cases in New York City, seven in California, two in Texas, two in Kansas and one in Ohio. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said eight students at a private Catholic high school likely got infected during a spring break trip to Mexico.

For more information on local prevention efforts, log on to http://www.health.state.ga.us/.

Labels: Georgia, mexico, monitoring, swine flu