Health officer: H1N1 epidemic is in Randolph

The Local Health Officer/Medical Director of the s Randolph-Elkins Health Department says there is an epidemic of the 2009 H1N1, known as "swine flu," going around the area, but residents should not be alarmed. Dr. Mary Boyd says she is concerned that false information has been disseminated about the swine flu, some of which has come from medical community.

The swine flu has been more prominent in young people than those who are older. Boyd explained that those who are younger do not have the immunity to the swine flu as those who are older.

"The flu going around right now is not seasonal flu," said Boyd, who is also an Elkins pediatrician. "As far as I know, there has only been one person diagnosed with seasonal flu in the United States in the past few weeks. It is too early to get seasonal flu. What is going around now is the swine flu - it can't be anything else."

Media reports about the swine flu have not helped because there has been an over-emphasis on deaths, which have occurred since it began in April, Boyd explained. She added that some news stations report opinions instead of facts about the swine flu vaccine.

"The facts are that influenza has always caused deaths," Boyd said. "The swine flu is no different, except that it has occurred out of season - not in the winter like usual seasonal flu. The over-emphasis on deaths has made people panic about this flu."

Although the swine flu has been hitting young people, most of them are not seriously ill, she commented. Locally, people are being diagnosed with bronchitis or upper respiratory infection or seasonal flu, Boyd added.

"The quick flu test that the doctors have in their offices is extremely unreliable in diagnosing the swine flu, so most doctors I have spoken with have stopped doing the test," Boyd said. "There is no use to do it, since we know it is swine flu going around."

Nearly all children Boyd has seen have had a high fever, cough, sore throat and body aches. All the symptoms have led Boyd to diagnose them with influenza and she has told their parents it is the swine flu; but they should not worry because the illness just makes children feel bad and it is not dangerous, she explained.

Children with the symptoms can be prescribed Tamiflu, but because there is a limited supply of the drug it is mostly reserved for those with underlying conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, according to Boyd. If the flu becomes pneumonia, antibiotics can be offered, she added.

"We are treating most of the kids with supportive care: plenty of fluids, Tylenol or Advil, cough syrup, humidifier and TLC from mom," Boyd said.

During the 1917 swine flu pandemic, there were no antibiotics or Tamiflu, which is why there were many more deaths than in 2009.

Boyd also refutes arguments that the swine flu vaccine had not been tested enough or that there is a risk in receiving the shot or nose spray.

"The fact is that the swine flu vaccine has been tested more than the seasonal flu vaccine is tested," Boyd commented. "There is usually very little testing on the flu vaccine because it has been around for so long and has been very reliable. This vaccine has saved millions of lives over the years."

Boyd said tens of thousands of people were involved in testing for this swine flu vaccine, which is one reason it has become available so late. She explained another reason is because the virus grew slow in culture.

"Some people are saying that not enough is known about the live virus vaccine and don't want their kids to get it," Boyd said. "The live virus vaccine is recommended to anyone between 2 to 49 years of age and has been around for several years. It is an attenuated or weakened flu that can only grow at certain temperatures in the nose. It builds up immunity in the nose and prevents the strong virus from getting into the respiratory tract. This weakened flu germ cannot grow in the temperatures in the lung, so it cannot get down into the lungs like the stronger flu, and cannot be passed to another person into their lungs either.

"We have had many years of experience with live virus vaccines - the measles/mumps/rubella vaccine is live, and so is the chicken pox vaccine, both great vaccines that have been around a long time and prevented a lot of disease," she said.

If this swine flu had happened in January 2009, instead of April, the swine flu germ would have been in the seasonal flu vaccine shot and nasal spray, Boyd explained. The very same companies that make the usual flu shots make the swine flu shots. There is actually an H1N1 virus in the seasonal flu vaccine this year, just not the same H1N1 as the swine flu.

There was another swine flu scare during the 1970s and some people were diagnosed with Guillaume-Barre syndrome after receiving the swine flu vaccine, Boyd said. Therefore, some people think this swine flu vaccine could cause Guillaume-Barre. Since the 1970s there has been no connection between the flu shot and Guillaume-Barre. She added that the swine flu in the 1970s was actually caused by a virus that is different from the one the public is experiencing now.

"I am a pediatrician and preventive health care is what I do every day," she said. "I keep educated about vaccines. I just took a 16-hour course from the CDC on vaccines, including the flu vaccine. I strongly recommend everyone to consider this vaccine, especially if their child has a high risk condition like asthma or diabetes, and pregnant women," Boyd said.

During a conversation with a doctor visiting from Johns Hopkins on Tuesday, Boyd said she learned that the seasonal flu vaccine may protect individuals from a severe case of the swine flu.