Case Update
Updated January 6: Five deaths from swine flu have been reported
in the Health Department's district: Two Kenton County women in
their 50s, a Kenton County woman in her 60s, a Boone County man in his 20s
and a Boone County woman in he 30s. One additional death associated
with swine flu was reported in Northern Kentucky in Pendleton
County, which is under the Three Rivers Health Department's
district.
Three hundred and twelve
cases of swine flu have been
lab confirmed in Northern Kentucky since late April 2009; however,
this figure may not accurately represent all cases. Most
individuals are currently being
tested for flu, and if the test is positive for flu it is assumed to
be the swine flu, as seasonal flu is not currently circulating in
the community. In most cases, samples from sick individuals are only
tested specifically for swine flu if the person is sick enough to be
hospitalized or is at high risk of complications (such as a pregnant
woman). Reports of flu-like illnesses are gathered regularly from
schools and health care providers to give a picture of how many
people are ill. This process is similar to how seasonal flu is
tracked each winter.
Since late October, a little more than 28,000 people
have received the swine flu vaccination directly through various
clinics held by the Health Department.
In addition, more than 59,000 doses of the
vaccine have been distributed to more than 90 medical providers, focusing on those
people in the target populations for swine flu vaccination.
Requests for Presentations
The staff from
the Health Department is open to requests to provide presentations about the swine flu
(H1N1) in Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton
counties, provided that certain guidelines are met.
View the guidelines and request a
presentation.
Fact Sheets
Details about swine flu are contained in our
fact sheet. A
short version is
recommended for those who wish to download information and make copies to share
in the community.
The short version is also
available in
Spanish.
Frequently Asked Questions
For basic information on swine flu, including
prevention,
read our fact sheet. For specific
questions, read a list of commonly asked
questions. If your question isn't answered here, you can submit it.
For Medical
Providers
Physicians' offices, pharmacies and other health care
providers are able to register a medical clinic or practice to possibly become a
swine vaccine provider for the 2009 flu season The Health Department is strongly
encouraging Northern Kentucky practices that reach a high percent of high
priority groups for vaccination, including children, pregnant women, and health
care/emergency services personnel, to register to provide the vaccine.
For more information, please contact Jean Caudill at 859.363.2009
or by e-mail to
jean.caudill@ky.gov.
Counting
Cases of Swine Flu
Testing and treatment for
swine flu are based on several factors, including the person’s symptoms and
his/her medical history. Ultimately, the decision to test and how to treat a
person is up them and the doctor providing care.
Read some examples to see how cases of swine
flu may be treated or counted.
Swine Flu
and Schools
The Health Department has put together an
overview of swine flu issues related to
schools, including issues such as surveillance, cleaning and prevention.
Seasonal Flu
Learn more about the seasonal flu, including the schedule for seasonal flu
vaccination clinics.
Swine Flu Presentations in the Community
Five
swine flu
presentations were held at local libraries, starting on August
31 and ending on September 15.
Experts from the Health Department addressed topics such as
symptoms of swine flu, caring for an infected person, how to avoid
spreading and contracting swine flu, and the latest available
information regarding swine flu vaccinations.
View the
presentation used at the library presentations.
H1N1 Flu Summit
The Health Department hosted a summit on
Wednesday, September 9, to educate more than 250 professionals about the H1N1 or
swine flu. Participants included physicians and office staff, hospital infection control practitioners, school nurses, emergency
management, EMS, local government officials. Speakers were from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kentucky Department
for Public Health, Sanofi Pasteur and Northern Kentucky Health
Department. View the PowerPoint
presentations from the summit.
More
Information
Submit a question by e-mail
Request a presentation for your community
group
Call the swine
flu information line at 859.392.0678
Info
en espanol (Printable
fact sheet in Spanish)
Flu.gov
Kentucky Department for Public
Health's swine flu page
Greater Cincinnati Health Council's swine flu info
