PORT ANGELES — County health officials are keeping a close watch on the H1N1 swine flu pandemic.
It’s flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, and the virus isn’t letting up there.
“We consider that a preview of what’s going to happen in North America,” said Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
“What’s happening in the Southern Hemisphere is pretty much what you’d expect with a pandemic.
“A lot of people are getting sick. Some of them suffer very severe illness and even death.”
Since it reared its head in April, the swine flu has infected more than 90,000 worldwide and killed 429, according to the most recent statistics from the World Health Organization.
Three cases have been confirmed on the North Olympic Peninsula — two in Sequim and one in Port Townsend. All three suffered mild cases and recovered without hospitalization.
Across the state, the virus has hospitalized 98 and killed four.
Locke said the virus has the potential to become more severe as it travels around the world and mutates.
It could even become a major pandemic like the one experienced in 1918, he said.
Asked if the swine flu has the potential to return to the North Olympic Peninsula, Locke said: “It’s inevitable.”
“We are seeing sporadic cases all around the state, including the Olympic Peninsula. We are in no way protected from this. Our population is too mobile. It will definitely be back here.”
Even if the flu strain remains a relatively mild one, “it’s still going to be a huge strain on the health-care system,” Locke said.
Health officials this summer are working with business leaders and school groups to plan for the fall, when the virus is expected to rebound.
“There’s a lot more work we have to do,” Locke said.
“Now is the time to do it. The summertime is just a respite . . . Slowing down the spread is a key objective of ours.”
The central public message from health officials has been to cover your cough, wash your hands frequently and stay home when you’re sick.
An H1N1 vaccine should become available before the flu season hits, but it’s a question of how much, Locke said. The number of doses could vary between 4 million and 16 million.
“The H1N1 pandemic is unstoppable, and therefore, all countries would need to have access to vaccines,” said Marie-Paul Kieny, World Health Organization director on vaccine research.
Most people will need two doses, a primer dose and a booster dose, Locke said.
The primary target for the vaccine is school-aged children, because schools are a common place for the virus to spread.
“H1N1 continues to be a problem in places like summer camps,” Locke said.
“When you congregate a bunch of kids together, it just takes one case.”
The National Institute of Health on Wednesday tapped a network of medical centers around the country to begin a series of studies for the swine flu vaccine. The first shots will be given to healthy adults in August.
The tests, along with additional research from vaccine manufacturers, will help the government decide whether to offer the vaccine in mid-October.
Olympic Medical Center spokeswoman Rhonda Curry said the Port Angeles hospital was not selected to participate in the study.
“It’s driven by the National Institute of Health,” she said.
Health-care providers like Olympic Medical Center, Jefferson Healthcare and Forks Community Hospital will be on the “front lines” of the H1N1 pandemic, Locke said.
He said these hospitals face the challenge of putting years of planning for a pandemic into action.
Interestingly, people born before 1957 seem to have a degree of immunity or resistance to the virus, Locke said, possibly because of an exposure to an earlier strain of the virus.
Meanwhile, Locke discussed health-care reform legislation at a Clallam County League of Women Voters meeting at OMC along with staffers from the Peninsula’s congressional delegation Wednesday.
He said health-care reform is needed to repair a broken system.
“The only thing we’re No. 1 in is the money we spend,” Locke said.
“We perform worse than most developed counties in the world.”
Health-care reform needs to address the problem of uninsured patients and regulate insurance practices to end abusive cases of denying coverage, Locke said.
“I haven’t seen a lot (in the legislation) that will actually achieve those goals,” Locke said.
“I’m making the case that this is the first step among many that we need to take.”
Rural areas like the North Olympic Peninsula face difficult challenges, Locke said, like work force recruiting and retaining health-care workers.
He said all three members of the Peninsula’s congressional delegation — Sens. Patty Murray, D-Freeland, Maria Cantwell, D-Mountlake Terrace, and Rep. Norm Dicks, D-Belfair — are key players in national health-care policy.
“They’re in the thick of the battle,” Locke said.
On Tuesday, the seven-member Clallam County Board of Health unanimously approved a resolution urging the immediate passage of comprehensive health-care reform legislation.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
