By James H. Hyde

The Swine Flu, now designated Influenza A H1N1 by the World Health Organization (WHO), has visited New England with two cases confirmed in Massachusetts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and two probable cases in Maine.

It is likely to appear in other states. However, there is NO need to panic by canceling visits to any of the states where Swine Flu has been confirmed.

It’s important to understand that, like any form of flu this is dangerous, but it has not erupted into a pandemic, nor is it spreading like wildfire. As of June 30, there were 96 confirmed cases in the U.S.

Further, to put Swine Flu in perspective vis-à-vis a normal seasonal flu, Dr. Michael Baden, a noted pathologist, says that the regular flu kills up to 100 people a day! So far, only one confirmed fatality has occurred from H1N1 in the United States.

According to WebMD, the symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu symptoms and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting as well. If you are coughing and sneezing, but do not have a fever, you do not need to rush to the local ER. It’s best to call your doctor first.

The best way to avoid this or any other strain of flu is frequent hand washing. Because there’s not always a nearby rest room to do that, doctors suggest that you buy the alcohol-based hand-washing liquid that comes in plastic bottles and dries without a towel. It’s not a bad idea to make hand washing a habit, especially if you have been nearby someone who has symptoms. If you have been near someone who appears to be ill, do not touch your ears, mouth, eyes or nose until you can wash your hands and face.

WebMD also advises that if you have symptoms, make sure that you sneeze and cough into a tissue, throw it away and wash your hands.

While WHO did raise the Pandemic Alert Level to 5 on April 29th (one step down from the highest level, which would indicate a full-blown pandemic), they did so out of an abundance of caution and because the virus, like many others, has apparently shown “some changes,” which may indicate possible mutation, but that has not been confirmed.

If you have the symptoms listed above you should seek medical attention by calling your doctor or going to a nearby ER. Bear in mind that if you have the Swine Flu and go to your local ER before talking to your doctor, you may spread it, although person-to-person transmission has not yet been unequivocally confirmed. If you don’t have it, and someone else in the waiting room does, you may be exposed.

Also, even if these symptoms occur, they could be from the regular flu, the season for which is coming to an end, and not be indicators of the Swine Flu.

Unfortunately, Vice President Biden told the press on April 30 that he would not fly anywhere or get on a train right now. He said, “If one person sneezes, the whole plane is infected.” That is yet another Biden gaffe, untrue, irresponsible and a panic starter. People sneeze from allergies, the common cold or any number of reasons. Further, indications are (although it has not been confirmed categorically), that the virus may spread if you are within a radius of six feet of someone infected. In other words, if someone sneezes on a plane or train, unless you are in close proximity to the sneezer, “everyone aboard” will NOT be infected. If this isn’t a Biden gaffe, then he’s not telling us something we should know, but there’s no evidence from WHO or the CDC to support that.

Common sense and the precautions noted above are the best way to avoid getting Influenza A H1N1. If you feel ill, you should stay home from work, do not attend school or go to any place where groups of people gather, i.e. restaurants, movie theaters, sports events, etc.

We will keep you informed about developments regarding this virus and what it does in New England, or if it mutates into a more dangerous strain and more precautions are advised by WHO or CDC. For more information, we suggest that you visit any of the following Web sites:

The World Health Organization (WHO) headquartered in Geneva Switzerland.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , headquartered in Atlanta, GA.

WebMD.com Swine Flu Page.

Update May 1, 2009

The Good News: The two boys who had H1N1 in Massachusetts are recovering well and looking forward to going back to school, “soon,” according to a variety of sources.

The Pandemic Alert Level remains at 5. If it goes to 6 (the top), then we have a high likelihood of pandemic flu on our hands. But as of today, there were no indications that the WHO had plans to raise the alert level.

No confirmed cases have been reported in Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island or Vermont.

According to FoxNews.Com, the government is working hard to make 600 millions doses of vaccine, but they won’t be ready for human trials until the fall.

Nonetheless, the government does have a stockpile of vaccines that they are currently doling out to the states now.

I found it somewhat gratifying that many other news sources and the White House also picked up Vice President Biden’s woefully premature “Chicken-Little” remarks, with some news outlets calling what he said “fear mongering.”

The White House had to go into damage control to try to spin their way out of it, but to no avail. During yesterday’s daily White House press briefing the reporters present laughed and snickered when President Obama’s press secretary tried to answer the first question with, “What he meant to say…” He said exactly what he meant to say, it’s very clear on the video, and it was fear mongering no matter how you spin it.

The real people to pay attention to about this flu are the WHO, CDC and Homeland Security, clearly not the vice president.

The Bad News:

Maine has confirmed five cases. These were considered “probable” yesterday, but we report only on confirmed cases in the tally.

In the U.S., there are 130 confirmed cases of H1N1 in twenty states, with seven cases in the New England states of Maine and Massachusetts. Rest assurred that if those cases are suspected or confirmed, the patients involved have been isolated and pose no threat to the general public.

According the FoxNews.Com, 300 of the nation’s 132,000 schools have been closed, and more are expected to close as a purely precautionary measure. Nothing should be read into this.

In some cases, colleges, too, have been closed and some professional sports events have been postponed. According to ProMed, the Dental School at Harvard has been closed, as well because there is at least one unconfirmed case there.

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