Modesto Bee Article

By Ken Carlson, Modesto Bee Staff Writer
last updated: May 1, 2009

Stanislaus County remained free of any reported cases of swine flu, but it could be a matter of time before the illness touches the county.

"We are on high alert," said Dr. John Walker, county public health officer. "We need to be looking and we are at risk just like other counties."

The health threat is not expected to result in the cancellation of public events, such as parades or high school graduations, because the county has no confirmed or probable cases, he said, "but again, it's a fluid situation."

State officials have not recommended canceling public events in counties with swine flu. If there are cases involving students, Stanislaus County health officials would talk to the affected schools about a temporary closure.

San Joaquin County expected test results today on whether a 31-year-old Tracy woman was sick with the H1N1 virus. She is considered a probable case; her symptoms were mild and she was never hospitalized, a county spokeswoman said.

Stanislaus County has sent 73 samples to a regional lab in San Joaquin County and results returned so far have been negative, Walker said. The lab runs tests to identify probable cases and those are sent to a state lab in Richmond for confirmation.

On Thursday, the count in California grew to 16 confirmed and 41 probable cases, with no deaths and eight people hospitalized. Fourteen of the state's 58 counties are affected. State officials expect the number of cases to rise.

Despite the lack of cases in Stanislaus County, people have gone to local emergency rooms in large numbers. Almost 300 patients went to the Memorial Medical Center emergency room Wednesday, about a 50 percent spike above normal.

Roe Kang of Modesto brought his 59-year-old mother to Memorial after she had hot flashes and felt weak Thursday. She didn't have a fever, a common flu symptom, but he brought her in just in case, he said.

"I am concerned about it," Kang said of the swine flu. "I have a 5-year-old son in school. It is good to be cautious about it."

Dr. Mike Salomon of Mo- desto, who works for an emergency physicians' group that contracts with hospitals, including Memorial, said emergency-room traffic has been up 25 percent to 30 percent in the valley. Hospitals are getting the tail end of the regular flu season and nearly everyone screened for swine flu is negative, he said.

"I would say half the people we are seeing are afraid they have swine flu," he said. "They don't have the trio of symptoms -- fever, respiratory illness and a connection to Mexico."

Still, some people were preparing for the worst.

Live-More Medical Supplies in Modesto sold more than 60 boxes of face masks in the past week, had only two left Thursday and was unable to get more from its distributor, said manager Paul Battisti. A box of 20 costs $40.

"A lady who was going to Mexico wanted to know if we have masks," he said. "We can't get them until they have them in the warehouse. Someone from Stanislaus County called trying to get some and I had to tell her no."

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at kcarlson@modbee.com or 578-2321.