Missourians brace for swine flu

The H1N1 virus has raised the pandemic alert to Phase 5.

By Trevor Eischen

Published April 30, 2009

On Wednesday, Missouri faced its first confirmed case of the H1N1 virus, popularly referred to as the "swine flu," amid an international scramble to contain the outbreak.

The virus was discovered in a Platte County resident and tested at a state laboratory. The sample is being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation.

While the sample from the suspected case is being confirmed, Missouri is taking preventative measures to stop the proliferation of the virus among the population.

The World Health Organization initially raised the H1N1 flu's pandemic alert level to Phase 4, but decided to raise the alert level to Phase 5 on Wednesday. Phase 6 is the highest phase on the scale and is used for full-fledged pandemics.

In the U.S., 109 cases have been confirmed, with only one death in Texas.

College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources Professor Tim Safranski said the name given to the particular strain of influenza is incorrect.

No source has been found for the flu yet, and the flu contains both animal and human components. Rather, he said, the swine flu should be referred to as either the North American flu or the H1N1 virus.

Safranski said college campuses hold the same risks of any largely populated area.

"The unique disadvantage for college campuses is that students tend to go to a lot of places and then come back," Safranski said. "The advantage that we would expect from most new viruses is that they tend to affect the elderly and the young. With this particular strain, however, that's not necessarily the case for the moment."

Safranski said birds pose an additional risk to the spread of the flu. In 2005, similar worries arose when avian flu killed many in several Asian countries.

"Today, all of our pigs are raised indoors," Safranski said. "They've got mechanically-ventilated and environmentally-controlled housing. And that really goes a long way to protecting the pigs."

He said this helps keeps pigs from sharing viruses with birds, who are the main host and distributor of viruses.

The swine virus is usually found in pigs. Human swine flu cases are rare, but people exposed to sick pigs are at risk. Diseases are called zoonotic if they jump from animals to humans. Swine flu is a caused by a type-A influenza. The new strain is a variation of the common H1N1 strain with a combination of both animal and human influenza. The H1N1 strain is a descendent of the 1918 Spanish Flu virus, which killed millions.

Genalee Alexander, a spokeswoman from the Columbia/Boone County Department of Public Health and Human Services, said the department usually receives updates from health care providers on a weekly basis. Because of the H1N1 outbreak, the providers are now sending updates on a daily basis, keeping close contact with the department.

"These are the kind of things people can do right now and that's what we're trying to help the public understand," Alexander said.

There is no vaccination for this particular strain, but Alexander said the virus is reacting to Tamiflu.

"I don't want people to be worried," Alexander said. "I want people to be aware."

Four MU students are studying abroad at the Universidad Ibero Americana in Mexico have been advised to return to MU.

"We have strongly encouraged the students to return home and are offering them any assistance they need with their travel arrangements," MU spokesman Christian Basi said in an e-mail.

Ibero Americana has canceled classes until further notice.