Riley sets up swine flu hotline - Military News | News From Afghanistan, Iraq And Around The World - Military Times

Riley sets up swine flu hotline

TOPEKA, Kan. — Both the state and Fort Riley have established hotlines for Kansas residents, soldiers and veterans who may display symptoms of swine flu.

Two people in nearby Dickinson County are the only Kansas residents confirmed as having contracted the flu, which has killed at least 152 people in Mexico. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the U.S. has 64 confirmed cases. At least seven people have been hospitalized, but no deaths have been reported.

Both the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and Fort Riley’s Irwin Army Community Hospital have established hotlines. The state hotline, announced Tuesday, is for residents who want information about swine flu. Fort Riley’s hotline is for soldiers, their family members and veterans to report if they have symptoms.

Dickinson County is near Fort Riley, though the two Kansans confirmed with swine flu did not work at the installation. The northeast Kansas Army post is considered by some to be the epicenter of a 1918-19 flu pandemic that killed millions worldwide.

State health department spokeswoman Maggie Thompson said the agency held a conference call Monday to answer local departments’ questions and to provide them with information about the swine flu’s symptoms and guidance from the CDC.

“I think people have a lot of questions, and they want to make sure they are responding correctly,” Thompson said. “I think people are responding in the right way and not panicking.”

On Tuesday, the Kansas Department of Emergency Management began staffing the state's operations center for 12-hour shifts, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Central time, until further notice. The Kansas National Guard's Joint Operations Center will also be open during the same hours.

Thompson said state health officials are expecting Kansas to begin receiving doses of anti-viral medicines this week from the national stockpile. Kansas already has about 300,000 courses of drugs that could be used to treat the swine flu.

Also, the Department of Defense said supplies of anti-viral drugs are already stocked at U.S. military hospitals and clinics.

The Kansas department is using a computer-based system to send information to health care professionals across the state, as well as to collect information should new cases be suspected.

Thompson said it is important to look for the specific symptoms or factors that would suggest the person may have the swine flu, rather than the common cold or other virus. Such factors include whether the person was recently in Mexico, was in contact with someone from Mexico or was in close contact with someone who has a confirmed case of swine flu, Thompson said.