MSU plans for possible swine flu spread to Mich.
Ingham County says it expects lab tests results this afternoon; Livingston County case confirmed
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MSU and state officials said they are preparing for the worst, as reports of swine flu cases continue to come in throughout the state.
Michigan lab workers are expecting lab results Wednesday afternoon determining whether five people in Ingham County with symptoms similar to those of swine flu have been infected, a county health official said.
Lab tests are being performed or scheduled for the other three possible Ingham County cases, said Marcus Cheatham, a county health department spokesman.
If the tests are inconclusive, which increases the likelihood that the virus is swine flu, the lab samples will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for review, Cheatham said.
At least one case has been confirmed in Michigan, raising concerns that the flu could spread throughout the state in the near future, said James McCurtis, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Community Health.
The CDC confirmed a swine flu case Wednesday involving a Livingston County woman. A separate case in Ottawa county has been deemed as “probable” swine flu, and samples of the case are being sent to the CDC in Atlanta for confirmation.
“We’re being cautious,” McCurtis said. “We are asking people to help us in taking the proper steps to prevent any spreading.”
MSU is working with local and state officials to better prepare for the possibility of an outbreak at MSU, university spokesman Jason Cody said. He said the university has had a pandemic plan in place for several years, since the avian flu scare in 2003.
“Everyone is taking the proper steps to prevent an outbreak,” Cody said.
In the case of a pandemic, MSU likely would cancel classes, send students living on campus home and limit research done at the university, according to the MSU pandemic planning Web site.
University Physician Beth Alexander called for students to stay cautious in wake of the outbreak in an e-mailed letter sent to students Monday evening.
Symptoms of swine flu include fever, cough, sore throat, chills and fatigue. To avoid spreading the disease, students are urged to wash hands frequently, cover their nose and mouth when coughing and stay home and call a health care provider if they experience symptoms.
Swine disease expert and MSU professor Barbara Straw said genetic differences in the strain potentially could cause problems.
“It’s so different from normal flu; it will be more dangerous,” Straw said. “It’s so different that none of the current vaccines will be useful against it.”
A vaccine for swine flu hasn’t been developed yet, but medicine can be issued to treat those who test positively, Cheatham said. The state currently has mass amounts of the drugs Tamiflu and Relenza to counter an outbreak.
“People who have a bad case of the flu can get a prescription,” Cheatham said. “The question is, do we need to do something more, will that work, will that be enough or do we need to get a bigger supply of it?”
Four MSU students are studying in Mexico, where the virus is thought to have originated and 149 people have died, according to The Associated Press.
Cody said none of the four students have made plans to return early, but their classes have been canceled in response to the outbreak. Forty-six students still are expected to study abroad in Mexico this summer.
“As of now, all study abroad programs are still on,” Cody said.
“There are ongoing discussions with the school and officials on whether to continue with the programs.”
Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced Tuesday that the state has partially activated its Emergency Operations Center, which will collaborate with local, state and federal agencies to monitor the situation and ensure a collaborative response to any swine flu cases.
As of Tuesday, more than 60 confirmed cases of the swine flu had been reported nationwide.
Commentary
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Steve
(04/29/09 1:30pm)Report
This whole thing is ridiculous. Almost 10,000 people died from the yearly influenza this past year yet no one gets all up and arms about that. Now, according to the CDC, we’ve had a whopping total of ONE confirmed death due to swine flu and suddenly everyone is wearing masks and the media is telling us that we are all going to die.
Now let’s compare that ONE death to the number of heart-related deaths due to people’s asses growing so huge and the population in Michigan resembling beached whales. If I were 50% of the population I would be more concerned about getting my butter-drenched body to the gym instead of wearing a mask around.
Steve's A Genius
(04/29/09 2:54pm)Report
Steve’s right! The flu may be dangerous to third-world countries like Mexico and Turkmenistan, but let’s all chill out. This is just another way for the media to prove their *importance to use before their medium is completely wiped away. Thanks Fox News and CNN for destroying journalistic integrity.
Jordan
(04/29/09 2:59pm)Report
Steve…influenza does kill thousands every year…and that’s with a vaccine! People are freaking out because this has the probability to become a widespread problem. Unlike the ‘large ass’ pandemic you allude to, this is contagious among dense populations..like that of a college class. A widespread infection of a college class would lead to those infected to pass the virus to others, creating a Michigan pandemic. And while there is only one confirmed fatality from swine flu, I’m willing to bet that will increase by end of finals week.
So, to reiterate my point, the regular strain of human influenza kills 10,000 people over the course of one year. If you were to consider how many would have died if they were not vaccine, numbers would increase exponentially….that’s why people are up in arms.
Sam's Thought
(04/29/09 3:22pm)Report
I believe that this is all just a media ploy. Another news cycle filtering in. Remember last week how we were all afraid of pirates. Get over it Jordan. This isn’t going to be the pandemic you’ve been waiting for. Most healthy kids to adults fall ill with the flu every year because we typically aren’t vaccinated because our immune systems are stronger. Vaccine or not, this is a typical flu, with typical mortality rates. The people that will die from this are the really young and really old, just like the normal flu.
Please don’t fall into the media’s fear trap.
Bill
(04/29/09 4:31pm)Report
Actually, this type of flu seems to be more dangerous for young people with healthy immune systems (especially 25-45). This is similar to the Spanish Flu, another swine flu from the early 20th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:W_curve.png
Wash your hands.
Steve
(04/29/09 5:24pm)Report
“People are freaking out because this has the probability to become a widespread problem.”
No, it has the POSSIBILITY, not probability. Possibility at best. This is going to be another BS media frenzy like SARS which amounted to a whole whopping 30 deaths. As long as you are healthy, under the age of 100 and are not immunocompromised you have nothing to worry about.
yeah but...
(04/29/09 6:18pm)Report
Not to oversimplify the issue or anything… but it sure would be sweet if they cancelled finals.
Lynn
(04/29/09 10:57pm)Report
The symptoms you get from the flu are because of your immune system. Having a strong immune system is what is going to hurt – not help – you.
Steve
(04/29/09 11:38pm)Report
“Having a strong immune system is what is going to hurt – not help – you.”
WHAT? Your immune system is what protects infections from killing you. It keeps you alive, therefore helping you, not hurting you.
Sam's Thought
(04/30/09 2:58pm)Report
Wrong Bill. The 1919 Spanish flu came from an undetermined source, but they think that it mutated from birds. This would make it an avain flu. Do your homework.
And one more thing: what the hell is wrong with Lynn? Strong immune systems hurt you?
Science
(04/30/09 5:17pm)Report
You guys need to do more research before throwing BS up here….why don’t you read up on what this has the potential to do to everyone … it’s idiots like many of you who don’t believe or refuse to believe the potential that are going to cause problems for everyone else by spreading it…. i think I’d rather be safe than sorry
Bottom line: Wash Your Hands
Lynn
(04/30/09 7:51pm)Report
Yes it does. While your immune system is wonderful for most things, sometimes it can get out of control. It’s a little thing called cytokine storm – look it up.
Steve
(04/30/09 10:52pm)Report
Lynn – Did you hear that on the Oprah show? Is that where you are getting this non-sense from?
This “cytokine storm” has been theorized in previous plagues as the cause of deaths, however, all of the plagues it was hypothesized to be involved in occurred before we had any real understanding of immunology. The CDC has specifically stated that this is not of risk with Swine Flu, and the disease course is identical to that of seasonal influenza.
Lynn
(05/01/09 2:32pm)Report
No I did not get it from the Oprah show. I’m aware that as of now the swine flu hasn’t caused any amplified responce. The scare is that it is the same strain, so the possiblity is there and people are trying to be prepared. This strain is a brand new mutation, something no one has seen before. So the point I was trying to get across is that by saying that having a strong immune system wil protect you is not always true!! Your body can be oversenstive to certain antigens and infections. If your body has a bad resonce to this flu strain and cannot clear it, you can die from pneumonia or various other things. Having prolonged inflammation can cause permenant damage and cause cell death, among other things. Although this is true of most influenzas, we are just able to clear it and/or tolerant of it. The symptoms you have with the flu is from YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM. Cytokines are a main player in the immune responce = cytokine storm aka overactive responce.