UPCOMING EVENTS AT LAMPREY HEALTH CARE:

BASIC YOGA Newmarket Center Community Room Wednesdays, 6:00pm - 7:00pm July 1 - July 29

Open to All Ages and Abilities Basic Yoga instruction with adaptations for seniors, pregnant women, sore joints, and other situations.

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Lamprey Health Care Annual 5K Road Race

Saturday, August 15, 2009 Newmarket Community Center

To register for the 22nd Annual Lamprey Health Care 5K, download and print the registration form under Reports and Printed Materials, and mail to Annual 5K, Lamprey Health Care at 207 S. Main Street, Newmarket, NH 03857.

You can also register online at www.active.com.

We look forward to seeing you on race day!

Proceeds from this road race benefit Reach Out and Read, an early literacy program that promotes reading, education and a lifetime love of books. Each pediatric patient at LHC, from 6 months to 5 years of age, receives a new age appropriate book at every routine check up to encourage early literacy among parents and children.

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SWINE FLU FACTS & INFORMATION

What is Swine Influenza?

Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a highly contagious acute respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Morbidity tends to be high and mortality low in pigs.

Can humans catch swine flu?

Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in people with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been cases of human-to-human spread of swine flu.

What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?

The symptoms of swine flu in people are similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, and coughing. Some people with swine flu have also reported having a runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.

How does swine flu spread?

Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person to person.

This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People can become infected when they touch surfaces and then touching their mouth or nose.

How long is someone with swine flu infectious to others?

People with swine influenza virus infection should be considered potentially contagious one day before disease onset and as long as they are symptomatic and possible for up to 7 days following the onset of illness. Children, especially younger children, might be contagious for longer periods.

Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?

No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.

How serious is swine flu infection?

Like seasonal flu, swine flu in people can vary in severity from mild to severe. Between 2005 until January 2009, 12 human cases of swine flu were detected in the U.S. with no deaths occurring. However, swine flu infection can be very serious. In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman in Wisconsin was hospitalized for pneumonia after being infected with swine flu and died 8 days later. A swine flu outbreak at Fort Dix, New Jersey occurred in 1976 that caused more than 200 cases with serious illness in several people and one death.

What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses. Antiviral drugs are prescription medicines (pills, liquid or an inhaler) that fight against the flu by keeping flu viruses from reproducing in your body. If you get sick, antiviral drugs can make your illness milder and make you feel better faster. They may also prevent serious flu complications.

How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?

To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.

What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?

While there is no vaccine currently available to protect against swine flu, there are a number of daily actions you can take to help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza: • Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. • Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. • Try to avoid close contact with sick people • Avoid sharing eating utensils. • If you get sick with influenza, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

New Hampshire Department of Health & Human Services 129 Pleasant Street ~ Concord, NH 03301 ~ 800-852-3345 ~ www.dhhs.nh.gov

For up-to-date information on swine flu, visit: www.cdc.gov/swineflu.

General information on Swine Flu including frequently asked questions and answers are available at: www.cdc.gov/swineflu/general_info.htm.

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Continuous Improvement Notice

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations evaluates an organizations compliance with nationally established Joint Commission standards. These standards deal with organizational quality of care issues and the safety of the environment in which care is provided. JCAHO determines whether, and the conditions under which, accreditation should be awarded to Lamprey Health Care. If an individual has any concerns about patient care and safety in the organization, he or she is encouraged to contact the organizations management. If the concerns in question cannot be resolved at this level, the individual may request a public information interview with the Joint Commission. Information presented at the interview will be carefully evaluated for relevance to the accreditation process. Requests for a public information interview must be made in writing and should be sent to the Joint Commission.

The requests must also indicate the nature of the information to be provided at the interview. Such requests should be addressed to:

Office of Quality Monitoring Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations One Renaissance Boulevard Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181

The Joint Commission will acknowledge such requests in writing by telephone and will inform the organization of the request for any interview. The organization will, in turn, notify the interviewee of the date, time, and place of the meeting.