KBIA Local
(2009-04-28)
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COLUMBIA, MO
(KBIA) -
MU Health Officials are trying to reassure residents of mid-Missouri that their chances of being infected with swine flu are incredibly slim. KBIA's James Steward tells how this might affect Missouri residents.
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No cases of swine influenza have been reported in Missouri. Sixty-four cases have been reported nationally. Forty-five of those cases are in New York. It is not yet clear if this strain of influenza is any more or less aggressive than more common strains.
MU's Student Health Center Director Dr. Susan Evan says they are encouraging people to get tested if they feel symptoms of the flu.
"If we find they're in a high-risk group because they've just returned from Mexico or they were in an area as this time passes, we'll have a better understanding of what the infectivity is and what kind of precautions need to be taken."
Symptoms include a low-grade fever, runny nose and a cough. The good news is that the strain has been responding well to treatment using two existing drugs, Tamiflu and Relenza.
Dr. Michael Cooperstock is the Medical Director of the Infection Control Department at MU. He says the incubation period for swine flu is only a couple of days.
"If someone is sick now, here in Columbia, Missouri, with a fever and muscle aches, the chances that they have swine influenza are about zero if there hasn't been a recognized contact with someone with a specific swine infection."
He says that rules out any fear about catching the illness while vacationing or visiting Mexico more than a week ago. Cooperstock is trying to ease people's fear about the new illness.
"It's easy to become worried, given all the publicity and the wonderful pictures of people with masks on the streets in Mexico, but the truth is that unless you have a true connection to the Mexico source, the chances that you have this disease are essentially nil."
The University is keeping its students and faculty updated through their MUAlert website; simply log on to MUAlert.missouri.edu to check for more information.
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