Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- At special meeting of the state Emergency Management Advisory Council Monday morning, state Health Director David Gifford spoke with calm and caution about the spread of the H1N1 flu, also known as the swine flu.

Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, who heads the advisory council, convened the meeting for a briefing on the state's plans and responses to the flu emergency. State Emergency Management Agency Executive Director J. David Smith and Adj. Gen. Robert T. Bray, who oversees the agency, spoke about being ready to act if the spread of the flu worsened.

Just in March, local and state health officials and emergency managers ran a drill to see how well they could respond to an anthrax attack. They had to coordinate with different agencies, at different levels of government, organize their resources, figure out how to receive and distribute information from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and quickly distribute medications to the public.

Now, they're using what they learned -- but instead of anthrax, the emergency is a new strain of flu.

The state Health Department held conference calls over the weekend with school officials, Gifford said, as Johnson & Wales canceled classes after a third student fell sick with "probable" swine flu. Narragansett's Pier Middle School was closed after a student there became ill. Students at North Kingstown High School returned to class on Monday, after being closed for two days because a student was suspected of having swine flu.

While the state Health Department is awaiting test results for seven potential swine flu cases, Gifford said nobody in Rhode Island has been hospitalized for the swine flu and just a handful across the country have been. One person has died from the flu, in Texas, and there will likely be others, Gifford said. However, there are about 30,000 deaths from influenza each year, he said.

What makes this particular flu different is that it's a new strain, and there are concerns that more people will become sick, or the flu's strength will increase, Gifford said. "The question long-term is, 'Is this going to be a circulating strain that we will see every year?' " he said. "This is how we get those strains."

The state has already stockpiled 12,000 treatment courses of Tamiflu, an antiviral drug that reduces the duration and severity of flu infections.

Some health-care providers have been frustrated as guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changes daily, Gifford said, but "this is an ever-evolving process."

Right now, Gifford said, the advice from health officials is the same as it is during the annual flu season: Cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze, don't shake hands, and wash your hands frequently.

 Tags  swine flu

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