(note: I didn’t blog all of the questions asked, but this is a good sampling of what was discussed. You can go to the Health and Human Services website to watch the tape).
Watching the webcast about H1N1 influenza virus from the Dept. of HHS.
Secretary Sebelius and Secretary of Homeland Security Napolitano and Dr. Besser, acting director of the CDC.
They’re not doing much here at the beginning, just restating what we’ve already heard. I am most interested in seeing what types of questions come in from the public and how these three leaders in Public Health in the United States answer those questions. (Other than Dr. Besser, I do wonder how much Sec. Napolitano and Sec. Sebelius actually know about the practice of Public Health, epidemiology and disease prevention).
Q1: Person works in factory where the parts come from Mexico and wondering if he can get sick by handling the parts.
Dr. Besser: No, the virus cannot live that long on material.
Q2: Person wants to know if they should cancel their family reunion for July.
Dr. Besser: No.
Q3: If a person dx’d with H1N1 virus and has been in a worksite, what kind of disinfection is needed in the building?
Dr. Besser: Those no need to disinfect the entire building. If you’re using the person’s work station, you would want to wipe down the keyboard, phone, etc.
Q4: My sister just returned from Mexico. Can she carry the virus even without being sick.
Dr. Besser: There is an incubation period of 2-7 days. During that time period, she should be watching carefully for the symptoms.
Q5: If someone in my house has been confirmed with the virus, what should we do.
Dr. Besser: the patient should self-isolate. Care givers should wash hands often and either the patient or caregivers should wear a mask.
Q6: Should high risk people take tamiful as a preventive?
Dr. Besser: Individual patients need to discuss their situation with their own doctor.
Q7: Mother of two small children. Should I stock up on food and other items?
Sec. Sebelius: Of course we need contingency plans, but that doesn’t mean that we need to be stock-piling food and water right now.
Dr. Besser: This is a time that people think about their overall level of preparedness for any emergency event (hurricanes, earthquakes, disease, etc).
Sec. Napolitano: The government has stockpiled the anti-viral drugs and by May 3rd, 25% of that supply will be out to all 50 states.
Q8: Is it safe to travel on public transportation within the United States?
Sec. Napolitano: Of course. We are not discouraging movement within the United States. Obviously if a person is ill/has a fever, they should not use public transportation and risk infecting other people.
Q9: Why are their more deaths in Mexico?
Dr. Besser: That’s an excellent question and it is vital that we understand that. It could be that the strain is more virulent in Mexico, or it could be that the US is just early into the infection and that it could get worse.
Q10: What happens if we get to Level 6?
Sec. Napolitano: For the public, not much will be different. As a government, we are already moving supplies and resources in anticipation of going to a level 6 event.
Dr. Besser: When people think about a pandemic, they usually think of the 1918 flu outbreak which was devastating. Not all pandemics look like that.
Q11: Is it possible that the disease is being carried by migrating birds from Mexico.
Dr. Besser: No.
Q12: At what point should we be avoiding crowds/public places?
Dr. Besser: if you personally are showing symptoms, you should avoid these situations. We are not at a point officially of recommending any kind of population isolation.
Q13: Are there recommendations for health care workers to take tamiflu?
Dr. Besser: refer to the CDC website for recommendations for health care workers.
Q14: How long does it take to get test results?
Dr. Besser: We are trying to reduce the testing burden (only doing at the CDC). We have moved out a research test kit to New York and California. If that goes well, we will roll those out to all states next week to reduce the time for results from testing.
Q15: When will we have a vaccine?
Dr. Besser: We are doing all that is necessary to prepare a vaccine (isolating and growing the virus, etc). The decision to vaccinate has not been made, if it is, it would be available as part of regular influenza vaccines this fall. Safety in the vaccine is vital as well.
Q16: Could this infection come in waves (be bad now, but then show up in four months and be much worse)?
Dr. Besser: In 1918, there was a mild outbreak in the spring, and then months later came back much more virulent. We don’t know what to expect from this virus. We are studying that right now.
Q17: Person with COPD and traveling to Florida, do I need to be concerned?
Dr. Besser: As a person with an underlying condition, you do need to pay attention. Talk to your doctor and be aware of any symptoms.
Q18: My son went to Mexico for Spring Break. Should I be concerned?
Dr. Besser: It is likely he is well beyond the incubation period of about 7 days and he should be fine.
Q19: Person in college dorm concerned about infection.
Dr. Besser: We are putting out specific guidelines for colleges this afternoon, but persons in that position should practice frequent handwashing and other preventive measures we have discussed earlier.
Q20: Is it important that we find patient zero?
Dr. Besser: What’s most important is we find how this virus came to be. It is a combination of swine, bird and human flu, so we need to understand the setting of how this virus developed. That can teach us a lot about this virus and where the next emergent infection may come from.
Q21: How many days should a confirmed patient remain in isolation?
Dr. Besser: Self-isolate at home for at least 7 days (at least one day more than symptoms are apparent).
Q22: What about babies and toddlers in daycare?
Sec. Sebelius: Of course this is a population in close quarters, but parents and workers should be practicing the processes already discussed and be aware of any child exhibiting symptoms.
Dr. Besser: Don’t send your child to daycare if they are exhibiting any of these symptoms.
Q23: Is it safe to eat food and vegetables from Mexico?
Sec. Napolitano: Yes, this is not a food-borne illness. Also, pork is safe to eat.
Q24: Are pets at risk?
Dr. Besser: These viruses are usually species specific and we have seen no evidence of threat to animals.
Q25: Will this impact production of seasonal flu vaccines?
Dr. Besser: It is important for us to complete production of this year’s seasonal flu vaccine, then we will focus on producing vaccine doses for H1N1, if we determine the need for that.
Q26: Is soap and water as effective as alcohol based cleansers?
Dr. Besser: It depends on how well you wash your hands. If you wash your hands while singing the ENTIRE birthday song, that should be sufficient (using soap and water of course and washing thoroughly).
Q27: Person traveling this weekend wants to know if she should wear a mask.
Sec. Napolitano: That is not necessary.
That’s all for now.
OneMom
Thanks for taking time to transcribe this for others!
Sure thing Timothy. I thought that not everyone has a high speed internet connection (or an hour to watch the whole thing), so I’d put up the high points.
I really appreciate you taking the time to do this. It is very helpful.
Oh please there is nothing helpful about this. This is scare tactics to get you to take a vaccine. The vaccine is already developed by Baxter, who weeks ago were caught shipping out a live bird flu virus in their vaccines. Funny how that live virus was a combo human/bird/swine virus exactky like this “swine” flu. Why are there no sick birds or pigs? Because this is engineered. Obama recently saying how USA behind on our innoculations. This is so predictable and it’s been talked about for months that this is what they are doing. Do your homework, people. The people in control want to limit the population. Vaccines are soft kill weapons. The damage happens afterwards. Google what happened with the 70′s swine flu vaccination. More people died or suffered from the vaccine rather than the disease. Vaccinations have been unleashing horrors for decades. Some ingredients include mercury and lead, still to this day.
Also ask yourself about the connection between Obama and Tamiflu, who are benefiting from this scare. Obama, Rumsfeld, Bush are all stock holders.
Michel – I can only suggest that you step away from your computer, go outside and get some sunshine and fresh air before your internet-fed paranoia destroys you. Wow.