Experts Answer More H1N1 Flu Questions

At Mary Black Hospital, it is Infection Preventionist Cherie Setzler’s job to stay on top of the new H1N1 Influenza “A”  outbreak. 
    So we took your questions to her to get some answers. 
    The first question we had is why they call this a pandemic when the seasonal flu kills so many more people each year?
    She says the word pandemic is used when we are talking about how fast the virus spreads, not the severity.
  Setzler says, “It is a combination of things that we have not seen before so there are unknowns that we are trying to guard against and hopefully contain the spread
    Another viewer asked about checking books out at the library and if the virus could spread that way.  She says, “Organisms can be left from a sneeze or a cough on peoples hands on inanimate objects.“  Setzler says the virus can live up to 2 hours on a surface so make sure you are washing your hands and not touching your face.  There have also been concerns about why the government doesn’t close schools and daycares as a precautionary measure.
    For that answer we had to go to SC DHEC and Dr. Gibson.
Dr. Jerry Gibson with SC DHEC says, “We don’t want a school to prematurely close on just the basis of some influenza cases if we don’t know if they really are associated with this swine origin virus.  There’s a cost to school closing.“
Finally you asked should we avoid crowded places?  Dr. Gibson says the only place that makes sense is Newberry because of the confirmed outbreaks in that area. 
    However, he does add they’ll monitor the situation daily and let residents know if that type of action becomes necessary.