What is swine flu or the H1N1?
Like people, pigs can get influenza (flu), but swine flu viruses aren't the same as human flu viruses. Swine flu doesn't often infect people, and the rare human cases that have occurred in the past have mainly affected people who had direct contact with pigs. But the current swine flu outbreak is different. It's caused by a new swine flu virus that has spread from person to person -- and it's happening among people who haven't had any contact with pigs.

What are swine flu symptoms? Symptoms of swine flu are like regular flu and cold symptoms include fever, cough, Sore throat, body aches, pain in the head or neck, chills, and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and nausea and vomiting associated with swine flu. Those symptoms can also be caused by many other conditions, and that means that you and your doctor can't know, just based on your symptoms, if you've got swine flu. It takes a lab test to tell whether it's swine flu or some other condition.

 If I think I have swine flu, what should I do? When should I see my doctor?
If you have flu symptoms, stay home, and when you cough or sneeze, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue. Afterward, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands. That will help prevent your flu from spreading.
If you've got flu symptoms, and you've recently been to a high-risk area like Mexico, CDC officials recommend that you see your doctor. If you have flu symptoms but you haven't been in a high-risk area, you can still see a doctor -- that's your call.
Keep in mind that your doctor will not be able to determine whether you have swine flu, but he or she would take a sample from you and send it to a state health department lab for testing to see if it's swine flu. If your doctor suspects swine flu, he or she would be able to write you a prescription. Those drugs may not be required; U.S. swine flu patients have made a full recovery without it.

Instruction For EMS PROVIDERS: A conference call led by EMSCC revealed the following practices

Paramedics(EMT-B, etc):
Requesting more information from dispatchers when sent to respiratory, sick person and fever related calls if limited initial information is provided upon dispatch. Initial interrogation of the patient from at least 2 meters (6.5 feet) away to determine if personal protective equipment precautions are necessary. Recommended PPE for taking care of ill/potentially infected patients includes: disposable gowns, gloves, goggles/face shields and N95 or better respirators. PPE should be donned and doffed according to published guidelines to prevent cross contamination, including eye gown protection when splash or airborne contamination is possible. Placing a mask on all patients with suspected symptoms, using filtered oxygen masks when available, or non-rebreather masks when oxygen is required. Droplet producing procedures should be avoided whenever possible including nebulize bag-valve-mask, suctioning or intubation. If bag-valve-masks are needed, use those with HEPA filters whenever possible. Alert receiving hospital personnel of the possibility of an infectious patient as soon as possible and hold suspected infectious patients in the ambulance until their destination in the hospital is known, rather than immediately moving them into the emergency room. Perform a thorough cleaning of the stretcher and all equipment that has come in contact with or been within 2 meters (6.5 feet) with an approved disinfectant, upon completion of the call.

EMS Dispatchers:
Obtain, at a minimum, the following:
Have they recently been in Mexico or been exposed to anyone that has been in Mexico, and how long the person was in Mexico (paying particular attention to those who stayed for 7 days or longer)? Are they febrile or have a fever, and if so, is it higher than 38° C (101°F)?
Do they have a cough or any other respiratory symptoms like difficulty breathing?

For dispatch centers not using cards or software, include the questions above when the caller reports flu, breathing difficulty or fever. Dispatchers should report the responses to these questions to the paramedics before they arrive on the scene.

The worst cases of flu that have presented so far have been mostly adults
from ages 25 to 45, but patients of all ages have been infected, so the same precautions should be used for all patients.

The NAED is a national arm of the International Academy of Emergency
Dispatch (IAED): a non-profit, standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide.
at www.emergencydispatch.org

The National EMS Management Association represents 1,600 EMS management professionals and is dedicated to continually improving the care delivered
to EMS patients by discovering, developing, and promoting the best EMS management practices. More information is available at www.nemsma.org.
NEMSMA has offered to be the secretariat to the EMSCC National Outbreak Discussion Group. In return, meeting minutes and resource source lists will
be distributed to our members.

FirstWatch is commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software that enables real-time Dashboard views and data analysis for statistically significant
trends, patterns or geographic clusters of incidents, based on user-defined criteria – from a Situational Awareness, Public Health, Operational or
Homeland Security standpoint.
Learn more online at: www.firstwatch.net.

National EMS Management Association
PO Box 927812
San Diego, CA 92192
www.nemsma.org


You can also call the H1N1 Call center Hotline at 1-866-800-1404