CNMI on pandemic alert 4

As part of precautionary measures, the Department of Public Health will be sending off island the test results of anyone found with type A flu for further evaluation.

“We are taking a proactive step to make sure that we are all safe,” said Public Health program analyst Roxanne Diaz.

Although DPH assured yesterday that there is no local case yet of swine flu, the CNMI has been put on pandemic alert level 4.

This means that people in the community are warned of a possible person-to-person transmission of the dreaded swine flu that had already killed 103 people in Mexico.

DPH activated this week the planning committee of the Emergency Operations Committee, based at the Commonwealth Health Center’s conference room.

DPH said the staff of DPH and CHC has been put on standby.

On Wednesday, members of the Pandemic Flu Committee were called to an emergency meeting to discuss preparedness measures.

The committee is composed of representatives of different agencies, including DPH, CHC, Commonwealth Ports Authority, Department of Public Safety, Department of Commerce, and Marianas Visitors Authority.

Diaz said the meeting was held to update the different member agencies of the Pandemic Flu Committee on the situation.

“We would like the public to know that we are taking a proactive step to make sure we are all safe,” Diaz said.

Gov. Benigno R. Fitial was set to issue an official statement late yesterday afternoon.

“As of now, we’re still developing our official statement. The Office of the Governor will be releasing it to the public later today,” Diaz said.

Aside from those who were killed in Mexico, 20 cases have been confirmed in the United States and six in Canada.

Swine flu is spread from person to person through touching, coughing, sneezing or talking while you are sick.

The H1N1 strain of swine flu is usually associated with pigs. When the flu spreads person-to-person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight off.

The new strain can spread fast because people do not have natural immunity and vaccines can take months to develop.

“While there are no cases of swine flu in the CNMI, we are aggressively putting up precautionary measures and exercising our plans to prevent any outbreak not only here on Saipan but also on Tinian and Rota,’ Diaz said.

She said patients with flu would be thoroughly screened and tested and those with type A would be treated accordingly.

“We will be sending the test results off island for further study,” she added.