Ithaca College

The World Health Organization (WHO) last week raised the Pandemic Influenza Level from 4 to 5, recognizing that there is now sustained person-to-person transmission of the H1N1 swine flu in many areas.

Illness, however, has generally been mild and similar to that seen with seasonal flu each winter. According to this Monday's WHO update, Mexico, which had originally reported 65 deaths and 1,000 cases, in fact has had 25 deaths and 590 confirmed cases. So far there have been 226 documented cases and one death in the U.S. (Keep in mind that we have 36,000 influenza-related deaths in the U.S. every year during the winter flu season.)

WHO: Updated Travel Recommendations

In response to what now appears to be a growing number of cases but generally mild or moderate illness, the public health focus will shift to reducing transmission and treating those individuals at greatest risk of serious flu complications; in other words, what health departments and individual providers do every winter.

Areas of New York with confirmed cases, or adjacent to counties with confirmed cases, are no longer being asked to submit specimens to the NYS virology lab for testing, and health care providers in those areas are being asked to treat or not treat flu cases according to the severity of illness, as usual. Antiviral medications like Tamiflu are being reserved for only the most seriously ill.

You can help protect yourself from seasonal or H1N1 swine flu, should it arrive in our area, by

• Washing your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds (about as long as it takes to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice)
• Using hand sanitizer if you cannot get to a sink with water to wash your hands. Gels, rubs, and hand wipes all work well, as long as they contain at least 60 percent alcohol. Be sure to throw the hand wipes into a trash can.
• Covering your coughs and sneezes with tissues or coughing into the inside of your elbow
• Disposing of your used tissues into a trash can
• Avoiding getting close to people who are sick
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose, or mouth unless you have just washed your hands

You can help protect the entire community by not coming to work or to class if you have symptoms of flu-like illness: fever plus cough, muscle aches, runny nose, and sore throat.