Photo by Michael Armstrong Public health nurses, doctors, hospital officials and others with the Homer PanFlu Work Group meet Thursday afternoon at the Homer Volunteer Fire Department hall to go over the pandemic influenza response plan.

Leslie Callaway, Public Health Nurse team leader for the Homer Public Health Center, chaired the meeting of city, state and hospital officials and health providers. People attending included Homer City Manager Walt Wrede, Fire Chief Bob Painter, Police Chief Mark Robl and South Peninsula Hospital CEO Robert Letson.

H1N1 influenza A, commonly called swine flu, has been reported in the United States, with 141 cases and one death, but no probable or confirmed cases in Alaska. Although commonly confined to pigs, the strain of concern is contagious and can spread from humans to humans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, H1N1 most probably is spread through coughing or sneezing. It is not spread through eating pork, bacon or ham. The Alaska Department of Health and Human Services defines a pandemic flu as a global outbreak of an influenza virus for which people have little or no immunity, and for which a vaccine may not have been developed.

The CDC and DHHS urged these basic preventative measures:

n Cover sneezes and coughs either with tissues or by sneezing into shirt sleeves.

• Wash hands frequently for at least 20 seconds in soap and water or with hand sanitizers.

• Stay home if sick and avoid close contact with others.

The purpose of Thursday's meeting was for health and public officials to regroup, share contact information and check the Homer PanFlu plan. The PanFlu plan follows the WHO pandemic alert phases to activate certain portions of the plan, such as increasing surveillance of possible H1N1 flu cases and reviewing emergency staffing. Some officials, such as Callaway, have cancelled personal leave.

The Homer PanFlu Work Group on Thursday went through the phase 5 list, checking off items to make sure the plan is ready to go if needed. The group also started its risk communication plan with local media, including the Homer News. The Homer News will do Web and print updates as needed, with DHHS taking the lead on communicating to the press and public.

Local doctors have received training on identifying suspect cases, said Dr. Lawrence Reynolds of Seldovia. Doctors have test kits to identify flu as being influenza A or B. If a patient is suspected to have swine flu, a culture will be sent to the state health lab for testing, and the patient treated as if he or she has swine flu. Patients can be treated with anti-viral drugs.

Alaska has 80,000 courses of anti-viral drugs, with 10,000 distributed to local communities and another 10,000 expected to arrive on May 1.

"Until a case hits Alaska, this is a good time to get prepared," Dr. Reynolds said. "We'll get a lot of practice treating anybody who gets a sniffle."

South Peninsula Hospital has updated its personal protection equipment inventory of items like respirators, gowns and gloves, Letson said. Staff also are doing fit testing of respirators. The city already had respirators on hand for protection from volcanic ash from the Mount Redoubt eruption.

WHO defines the phase 5 pandemic alert level as the verified human-to-human spread of animal or human-animal viruses like swine flu in at least two countries in a region.

"The declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short," the WHO said in describing the alert level.

It was the possibility of avian flu spreading to humans that prompted the state and Homer to prepare its pandemic flu emergency response plan in 2006. The city's plan is on its Web site at www.ci.homer.ak.us.

The Homer PanFlu Work Group will hold weekly meetings throughout the pandemic. The degree and severity of the H1N1 influenza A outbreak remains unknown and is changing rapidly. For more information, visit the DHSS pandemic flu Web site at www.pandemicflu.alaska.gov or the CDC Web site at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.