NEWS ALERT: U.S. declares public health emergency to deal with emerging new swine flu
The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new swine flu, much like the government does to prepare for approaching hurricanes.
Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild -- and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.
Kathy Roche public information officer for Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center said there have been no reports of people showing up with symptoms.
"Nothing to report that appears to be indicative of swine flu and no inquiries from the public," she said.
Officials from both Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center said they could not release information about symptoms of their patients.
There was no information available from Montclair Hospital Medical Center.
Officials reported 20 U.S. cases of swine flu in five states so far, with the latest in Ohio and New York. Unlike in Mexico where the same strain appears to be killing dozens of people, cases in the United State have been mild -- and U.S. health authorities can't yet explain why.
Kathy Roche public information officer for Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center said there have been no reports of people showing up with symptoms.
"Nothing to report that appears to be indicative of swine flu and no inquiries from the public," she said.
Officials from both Arrowhead Regional Medical Center and Loma Linda University Medical Center said they could not release information about symptoms of their patients.
There was no information available from Montclair Hospital Medical Center.
"As we continue to look for cases, we are going to see a broader
spectrum of disease," predicted Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "We're going to see more
severe disease in this country."
At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.
Top among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that, Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.
Napolitano called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure -- one was declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."
"Really that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."
On the Net:
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov
staff and wire reports
At a White House news conference, Besser and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano sought to assure Americans that health officials are taking all appropriate steps to minimize the impact of the outbreak.
Top among those is declaring the public health emergency. As part of that, Napolitano said roughly 12 million doses of the drug Tamiflu will be moved from a federal stockpile to places where states can quickly get their share if they decide they need it. Priority will be given to the five states with known cases so far: California, Texas, New York, Ohio and Kansas.
Napolitano called the emergency declaration standard operating procedure -- one was declared recently for the inauguration and for flooding. She urged people to think of it as a "declaration of emergency preparedness."
"Really that's what we're doing right now. We're preparing in an environment where we really don't know ultimately what the size of seriousness of this outbreak is going to be."
On the Net:
CDC: http://www.cdc.gov
staff and wire reports
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