Pueblo County still hasn't had a case of swine flu, but the county's chief medical officer said her agency's response was "probably the best exercise that could have occurred."
Dr. Christine Nevin-Woods, executive director of the Pueblo City-County Health Department, told the health board Wednesday that the department expects to conduct a mass vaccination program in the fall. Public health officials worry that what has so far been a mild disease still could mutate.
That's what happened in 1918, when a swine flu struck in late winter with little damage but turned into a deadly pandemic later in the year, killing millions of people around the world.
There have been other swine flu outbreaks since then but none as devastating
and Nevin-Woods said that so far, the 1918 virus seems to have been unique and this one may not follow the same pattern. Nevertheless, production of a vaccine specifically targeting the new virus is under way.
Nevin-Woods said that means there will be two vaccines available later this year. Pharmaceutical companies are producing the usual seasonal flu vaccine that will be available through doctors' offices, pharmacies and other providers.
A separate vaccine targeting the H1N1 virus will be provided by public health agencies. It's possible, she added, that two doses could be needed, so protection from swine flu and the usual seasonal flu that makes the rounds every year could take three separate shots in the fall.
A mass vaccination exercise the department ran several years ago was successful, she said, indicating that things should go smoothly later this year.
Just because there have been no reported cases of swine flu in Pueblo doesn't mean it isn't here. For most people the symptoms have been mild and if they don't run high fevers or fit the profile that includes travel to Mexico or other outbreak areas, people might not seek medical care and they would not be tested.
When reports started coming in that the disease had spread to the United States, the department put into action the plans it had developed in dealing with a pandemic.
"We had excellent cooperation from the community, the school districts, the colleges, the hospitals," Nevin-Woods said.
"We still have some work to do with our doctors. They're still not prepared in their offices." Doctors were urged to find ways to isolate flu cases from other patients, something that's difficult in many small waiting rooms.
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Copyright (C) 2009, The Pueblo Chieftain, Colo.