Avoid the four-letter word. That was the recommendation from Amador County Public Health Officer Dr. Robert Hartmann as he stood before the board of supervisors Tuesday. That word is fear.

Hartmann was addressing the supervisors on the county's response to swine flu. "We have no cases," he said, before making it clear that Public Health was taking precautions to keep it that way.

"We're on heightened surveillance for swine flu and we've been testing hundreds of people who've come in to the emergency room," Hartmann told the Ledger Dispatch Wednesday. "So far, no one has tested positive and very few people have even tested positive for the seasonal flu."

According to Angel LeSage, Public Health director, her department has been working "aggressively" with Sutter Amador Hospital and the Amador County Sheriff's Office of Emergency Services to formulate a plan that could respond to an outbreak in the area.

LeSage pointed out that, in addition to testing, Public Health had decided to monitor absenteeism with large employers in Amador, such as the Jackson Rancheria and Mule Creek State Prison. Her department is also monitoring absenteeism throughout the school district. The county has also requested its regular allotment of Tamiflu be delivered by the state.

In a public statement, LeSage emphasized that in California "for the most part, the disease has been mild in the early cases identified and very few people have needed hospitalization." She went on to say that, as with all forms of influenza, taking precautions was the key to slowing the spread. Public Health recommends that everyone frequently wash their hands with soapy water or use disinfectant hand gels, as well as blocking coughs with a shirt sleeve rather than a naked hand. Anyone feeling sick should not go to school or work.

In total, there have been 14 confirmed cases of swine flu in California, most primarily concentrated in three counties. Hartmann told the supervisors that he and Public Health were getting regular updates on the situation throughout the state.

"Last Thursday, we began monitoring conference calls between the State Health Department and Centers for Disease Control," he said.

Hartmann and LeSage assured the Ledger Dispatch that if anyone in Amador County were to test positive for swine flu, they would notify the media, and various measures would go into effect to address the developing situation. Until then, Hartmann isn't encouraging an alarmist mentality. When asked at the supervisors' meeting whether Amador residents should be wandering the streets with surgical masks, his answer was quick and without hesitation: "No."





On the Web

http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/