Revised treatment guidelines issued by Calif. Dept. of Public Health.

While the number of confirmed and probable cases of swine flu in California crept past 400, Bay Area public health departments are focusing their efforts on the testing, prevention and containment of the virus.

New, interim guidelines released on May 8 by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) said the virus appeared to be no more severe than seasonal influenza.

All schools that were shut down by public health departments have been reopened, and under the direction of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the affected counties are adopting a new strategy whereby they will not close a school unless the number of students and/or faculty who are ill would interfere with a school’s ability to function.

Meanwhile, area physicians report difficulty in obtaining testing kits for patients presenting with flu-like symptoms, and hospitals have begun requesting that small practice doctors not send their patients to emergency rooms for testing.

Revised treatment guidelines were issued in early May by the CDPH, recommending five days of antiviral treatment using oseltamivir or zanamivir for confirmed, suspected and highly probable cases in patients who have been admitted to a hospital or those non-hospitalized patients who are at high risk for the virus.

New guidelines also have been issued by the CDPH for the prevention of the spread of H1N1 in Emergency Shelters, in case of an earthquake or other natural disaster during the pandemic. These guidelines, which are similar to standard infection control steps, include wearing protective clothing, using an N-95 respirator and wearing eye and facemasks.

Though the virus does not appear to be particularly severe at present, health officials urge physicians to remain on high alert and to counsel patients with confirmed — or even suspected — cases of H1N1 to employ methods to ensure the virus is contained.

The full impact of the H1N1 pandemic remains to be seen, as influenza outbreaks historically peak in the fall and winter seasons. In the outbreaks of both 1918 and 1957, scatterings of mild cases were experienced in the spring months, followed by massive outbreaks in “flu season.”

- By Tony Edwards

Tony Edwards is the digital media editor for the Healthcare Journal.