No island swine flu officially diagnosed

Rumors circulated this week that some local children have been diagnosed with the H1N1 swine flu, but as of now, no one is being tested specifically for that illness unless they are hospitalized. Health inspector Richard Ray confirmed yesterday morning that a few instances of flu were recently reported and all are being treated as swine flu as a precaution. Treatment for H1N1 is essentially the same as for any flu, he said.

"At this point there is no official testing to define H1N1 from any seasonal flu," explained Ray. "At this point we treat each flu case as if they were H1N1. We have had five instances so far."

Middle school principal Caryl Toole and CPS nurse Meg Roberts both said on Monday that they were unaware of any swine flu in their student population. Nantucket Cottage Hospital community relations director Chuck Gifford said that as of last Friday no testing for H1N1 has occurred because no one so far has been sick enough with the flu to require hospital admission.

Ray said his office originally scheduled four H1N1 clinics, but the promise of significant amounts of the vaccine from state and federal sources has not materialized. He is holding the planned dates open in the event that a large enough volume of vaccine arrives to treat 700 to 1,000 residents at a time; however currently his office is in a partnership arrangement with the hospital.

When vaccine supplies arrive they go to the hospital for distribution to island physicians upon request. Ray added that notice of shipments only comes 24 hours before delivery and health officials do not know whether they will receive the inhalant version, single-dose syringes or multiple-dose vials.

Ray advises that parents with children between the ages of six months to nine years who have yet to be inoculated contact their family doctor to see if they have obtained the H1N1 vaccine through the hospital.

"People need to be concerned, but people should have been concerned months ago," said Ray, who stresses hand washing, sneezing into the elbow rather than hands and staying home if flu symptoms occur and fever rises above 100 degrees.

Unlike the standard flu that usually strikes the elderly more seriously than other age groups, Ray explained recently to the selectmen that vaccination priority for H1N1 goes first to children 10 and younger, their parents and caregivers; secondly to elementary and high school students; thirdly to those ages 25 to 45 and lastly to those 55 and older. In general, it has been found that people 25 years old and younger are hit hardest by the swine flu. I