Infection Control Key for Swine Flu Outbreak

ATLANTA–The swine flu has claimed its first fatality in the United States, and health officials have said the outbreak is showing clear signs of spreading.
 
On Tuesday, President Obama asked for $1.5 billion in emergency funding to fight the disease. This morning, he noted the death of a 23-month old baby in Texas showed it was time to take “utmost precautions” against the flu virus.
 
At a press briefing earlier today, Dr. Richard Besser, acting head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the country now has 91 confirmed cases in 10 states from New York to California. Sixty-four percent of the cases involve people under age 18, but patients range in age from 8 to 81, he said.
 
Besser said the incubation period for the U.S. cases is two to seven days. As the disease moves forward, he added, “I expect that we’ll continue to see additional deaths.”
 
To fight the disease, health officials are emphasizing basic preventive measures, including avoiding close contact and washing hands often to protect from germs.
 
“If you are a DME provider interacting with customers on a daily basis, take the time to review with your staff your infection control practices and make sure that they understand the risks,” said Mary Ellen Conway, RN, BSN.
 
“What I don’t see a lot of people focusing on is hand-washing,” said Conway, president of Capital Healthcare Group in Bethesda, Md., and an expert in accreditation standards including infection control. “The number one way to prevent the spread of infection is to wash your hands in soap and warm water for two minutes and dry with paper towels anytime you’re near a sink,” she said. “Alcohol gel is great, but it is meant to be a substitute for the times you can’t get to a sink with soap and water.”
 
Providers should also stock up on PPE (personal protective equipment), if the outbreak in this country worsens, Conway said, adding that a mask “will help if someone sneezes on you.”
 
On Sunday, HHS declared a public health emergency due to the flu virus, a respiratory disease caused by type A influenza (H1N1) that regularly causes flu among pigs. The current outbreak, which is suspected to have started in Mexico, may have caused at least 159 deaths and 2,500 illnesses in that country. The toddler who died in Texas had been transported from Mexico to Houston for treatment, officials said.
 
The World Health Organization is coordinating the global response to human cases of swine flu and is monitoring the corresponding threat of an influenza pandemic.
 
Conway advised providers to contact the public health department in their area, particularly if located in a state with an outbreak, to find out what precautionary measures are being taken and to keep up with news if the disease spreads further.
 
For the most current information on the swine flu, including preventive measures for consumers and guidance for providers, check the CDC Web site.  

————————————————————————————————— Related alerts from the American Association for Homecare and VGM Group have noted the swine flu outbreak is a reminder of the key role that home care providers play in responding to a pandemic and the importance of disaster preparedness for the home medical equipment community.
 
A report prepared by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality points out an expected shortage of health care professionals during a flu pandemic will leave family and friends, who are generally not trained health care professionals, to care for flu-stricken patients. The report summarizes what home health care workers can expect during a pandemic, noting they will be called on to provide care for two main patient populations:

–Medical and surgical patients, not hospitalized because of the pandemic, who are well enough to be discharged early to free up hospital beds for more severely ill patients; and
–Patients who become or already are dependent on home health care services (predominantly elderly persons with chronic disease) and will continue to need in-home care during the influenza pandemic, whether or not they become infected with the flu virus.
 
“It is important for congressional members to understand this,” according to the VGM alert. “Inform them that programs such as competitive bidding would not be beneficial in times of a pandemic.”