'Tis the season for giving thanks.
But this holiday, people may be spreading more than cheer.
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, travel and close contact between family and friends may cause an increase in swine flu cases, health officials said.
"When you close schools and have a whole bunch of families mixing from around the country, you're going to certainly be exposed to possibly even cold viruses that haven't made it to your neighborhood or city yet," said Joe Quimby, senior press officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This Thanksgiving travel season, from Nov. 20-29, nearly 1.5 million people are expected to come through Los Angeles International Airport, Spokeswoman Katherine Alvarado said.
According to the CDC, there has been a recent decline in the number of reported cases of the H1N1 virus, but the virus is still widespread in 43 states.
"It's tough to predict what the future will hold when it comes to influenza," Quimby said. "It's a very unpredictable disease. I think if you look back at recent years worth of flu surveillance, there has been a slight uptick (during holiday travel)."
The CDC estimates that 22 million people have been infected with the H1N1 virus since April and 4,000 have died from the virus. The health organization urges people to travel only if they are well, get vaccinated against swine and seasonal flu, wash their hands often and cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve.
But Ian Kramer, medical director of the emergency department at Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital in Whittier, said it's not holiday travel that will cause an increase in cases, it's the change in weather.
Kramer said there's typically an increase in seasonal flu cases during the holidays.
"I don't think that traveling to different parts is going to expose you to more swine flu," Kramer said. "We think everybody is already exposed to it. It's everywhere."
Officials at local schools and colleges said precautionary measures have been put in place to prevent the spread of the swine flu at their campuses, but they are unsure of the effects of students' travel plans this week.
"We've been so proactive with handwashing and everything else and we haven't seen much more of (the swine flu) than the seasonal flu," said Baldwin Park Superintendent Mark Skvarna. "Traveling abroad is always a concern, but if we see somebody sick or coughing, we'll send them home."
At Pasadena City College, a health official said there have been four students who have called to report that they have a confirmed case of the swine flu, although she expects the number infected is much higher.
"There have been a lot of students sick throughout the term, so we'll just have to wait and see," Jo Buczko, Pasadena City College coordinator for Student Health Services, said. "If people are going to travel, it's a pandemic so it's everywhere. We'll just treat them when they come back."
The Associated Press contributed to this story. To see more of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sgvtribune.com. Copyright (c) 2009, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, West Covina, Calif. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, San Gabriel Valley Tribune, West Covina, Calif.