Military medical officials monitoring swine flu

  • Published
  • By Donna Miles
  • American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON (AFNS) --  Defense Department officials are monitoring the swine flu situation closely, with their primary focus on protecting the military population, a senior Pentagon official said April 27. 

As officials with the Department of Health and Human Services lead the U.S. effort, the military is posturing itself to respond if required, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said. 

"We certainly have a number of contingency plans for dealing with health incidence like this, because our primary goal is preservation of the fighting force," he said. "So we obviously have plans and take measures to ensure that we can preserve the fighting strength of the military in the event that there should be a greater crisis with respect to a health situation like this." 

Two prescription anti-viral drugs, Relenza and Tamiflu, already are standard stock at U.S. military treatment facilities, and larger quantities are stockpiled at several sites in the United States and overseas, Mr. Whitman said. 

President Barack Obama told the National Academy of Sciences the emerging incidence of swine flu in the United States "is obviously a cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it's not a cause for alarm." 

Representatives at the Centers for Disease Control have confirmed 40 cases of swine flu virus infection in the United States in California, Kansas, Ohio and Texas as well as New York City. None have involved members of the military or their families. 

Greater cases of infections have been reported internationally, particularly in Mexico. 

President Obama said HHS officials have declared a public health emergency only "as a precautionary tool to ensure that we have the resources we need at our disposal to respond quickly and effectively." Officials with HHS, the CDC and the Department of Homeland Security will provide the American people regular updates about steps being taken and precautions that may be required, he said. 

While the swine flu has not been detected locally, officials at the 55th Medical Group's Ehrling Bergquist Clinic are taking no chances. 

"We are increasing our monitoring and taking a number of precautions at the clinic," said Col. David Williams, 55th MDG deputy commander. "We are asking patients with respiratory illnesses to don masks to prevent potential spreading." 

Meanwhile, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director John Berry distributed CDC guidelines for preventing the spread of swine flu to the federal work force. Mr. Berry also distributed guidance for federal agencies to protect their work forces and the public and to ensure continuity of operations in the event that they must institute their already-prepared pandemic influenza preparedness plans. 

For more information, visit the CDC Swine Flu web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflU  
(55th Public Affairs contributed to this article)