Swine flu not in Conejo Valley, yet

Though no cases of swine flu have been reported in Ventura County, Conejo Valley doctors are preparing for the virus to surface locally. Swine flu has reportedly killed an estimated 150 people worldwide since mid-March.

There has been one reported death in the U.S. attributed to the recent outbreak.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, swine flu is a type A influenza virus usually found in pigs. Although uncommon in humans, a variant of the virus, known as H1N1, has infected people who work with or are exposed to pigs. It is then passed from person to person, the same as the common flu.

The CDC has reported that more than 200,000 people in the U.S. are hospitalized annually due to flurelated complications and that about 36,000 Americans die each year from causes associated with the common flu.

The CDC confirmed earlier this week that there have been 64 swine flu cases in the U.S. since it was first reported by health officials in Mexico in mid-March.

California, with 10 confirmed cases, and New York, with 45, have been the two hardest hit states. Swine flu has also been reported in Texas, Ohio and Kansas. The CDC reported that most cases are believed to have originated in Mexico.

Dr. Allen Hooper, head of the emergency rooms at St. John's Medical Center in Oxnard and St. John's Pleasant Valley Hospital in Camarillo, said it's not a question of if the virus will hit locally but when.

"We're looking at this very closely," Hooper said.

The symptoms of swine flu are nearly identical to the common flu, Hooper said, which is why lab tests are necessary to confirm the rarer strain.

All swine flu tests are being handled by the Ventura County Public Health Department. According to health officials, the county health department can handle 30 tests per day.

Dr. Robert Levin, medical director for the county health department, said the virus has yet to show its ability to spread rapidly in the U.S. but added that because the virus has cropped up in various states, "the horses are already out of the barn."

Representatives at Los Robles Hospital and Medical Center, Simi Valley Hospital, Community Memorial Hospital in Ventura and the two St. John's hospitals said they have not had to ask the county health department to test for the swine flu.

Kris Carraway-Bowman, a spokesperson for Los Robles, said the Thousand Oaks hospital is working on a swine flu hotline that will give residents basic information about the virus.

Hooper said that because the recent swine flu outbreak originated in Mexico, officials are especially mindful of residents—particularly local college students returning from spring break trips —who have traveled to Mexico in the past two weeks.

"If you live in areas where swine influenza cases have been identified and become ill with (flu)like symptoms, including fever, body aches, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, or vomiting or diarrhea, you may want to contact your healthcare provider, particularly if you are worried about your symptoms," said a recent report released by the CDC.

Cases of the swine flu in the U.S. are rare. The most serious outbreak was reported in 1976 at an Army fort in New Jersey. More than 200 people were sickened by the outbreak, which killed one soldier.

The CDC announced earlier this week it is releasing both antiviral drugs and face masks to states where swine flu has been reported.

The prescription antiviral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir have been successfully shown to fight the virus, the CDC reported.

Although there's no vaccine against swine flu, the CDC offers the following common sense suggestions to keep from getting sick:

•Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

•Wash hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze.

•Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth, as germs spread this way. •Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

•If you get sick with the flu, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others.