The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has declared a public health emergency due to the growing outbreak of H1N1 influenza virus – commonly referred to as “swine flu” – in the United States. The new strain of swine flu is spreading from human to human, in the same manner as a seasonal flu, through coughing, sneezing, and touching contaminated surfaces.

To date there have been numerous confirmed cases in the U.S., and one reported fatality. The symptoms of swine flu are similar to that of a typical flu outbreak, including high fever, chest congestion, fatigue, muscle aches, and nausea. While the outbreak is serious, and the number of infected cases continues to grow, the virus has shown to respond to treatment by anti-viral medications.

In comparison to the seasonal flu, which claims an average of 34,000 lives annually, the swine flu outbreak in the U.S. is a predominantly mild viral infection. Nevertheless, the new swine flu epidemic is spreading rapidly and has been shown to mutate, leading many health organizations to recommend precautions to patients.

What you can do to protect yourself and others:

To help protect you and your family from the swine flu, Concentra and the CDC recommend these everyday steps to protect against contracting the virus:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you display symptoms, such as high fever, muscle aches, nausea, respiratory congestion, seek immediate medical attention.
• If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

More information on individual and family preparedness and response is available at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pandemic Flu site.

Ways to protect your workforce and educate your employees:

Some viruses and bacteria can live 2 hours or longer on surfaces like cafeteria tables, doorknobs, and desks. This makes the workplace an important place to communicate the importance of safe health practices and implement some standard preventive health measures.

Employees should stay home from work and avoid social gatherings if they are not feeling well to avoid spreading the disease to others. Employers should consider their business “Continuity of Operations Plan” (COOP). This plan includes identifying the most critical parts of your business and cross-training employees to cover essential positions in the event of absences. This may also include implementing “social distancing” by determining who can work from home.

Concentra has created several materials for use in the workplace to help share information on the swine flu outbreak, including steps employers and employees can take to protect their workforce from spreading the virus:

• Influenza Wellness (flyer)
• Protecting Against Influenza (presentation)
• H1N1 (swine flu) Q&A
• Influenza Employer Alert | Spanish Version
• Hand Washing Guide (flyer) | Spanish Version

Additional reference sites:

• CDC Swine Flu
• World Health Organization Swine Flu
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services