Swine Flu at New York Nursing Home?
A nursing assistant at The Valley View Center for Nursing Care and Rehabilitation in New York appears to have contracted the swine flu. The nursing assistant had vacationed in Mexico and returned to work on April 21, 2009 and continued working until April 25, when she felt ill and went home. She has since self-quarantined herself and feels better.
As a precaution, all 358 nursing home residents and all 550 employees will be treated with the anti-viral drug Tamiflu as a precaution.
Investigations are ongoing to determine the origin of H1N1, or "swine flu", but the virus infection has spread from Mexico into the United States and other foreign countries. To help you keep healthy, follow these obvious precautionary steps as recommended by The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO):
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing; throw the tissue away
immediately;
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water, especially after coughing or sneezing. If
soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread easily that way;
- Avoid close contact with sick people; and
- If you become ill, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to avoid further
infection.
