Socorro Public Library — Flu (Influenza) Information

This season the H1N1 flu virus and other flu viruses are contagious and spread from human to human. Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. The New Mexico Health Department reports that most New Mexico flu cases have been mild, although there have been 53 deaths, most were patients with pre-exisiting chronic medical conditions. Precursors of this H1N1 virus appeared in the Untied States in the 1970s, the 1950s, and earlier, so many people over 24 have an already developed immunity to it. Six of the New Mexico deaths were patients in their teens and twenties who did not have pre-exisiting chronic medical conditions. Ten deaths were children.

There are flu vaccines for some strains of flu, including H1N1. H1N1 vaccine is only recommended for priority groups, which include all children and young adults 6 months to 24 years. There are also antiviral medicines that can be prescribed, in the proper case, to lessen the symptoms of flu. You can help prevent the spread of illnesses like influenza by:

• Covering your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it;
• Washing your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. You can also use alcohol-based hand cleaners;
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Viruses enter your body this way;
• Trying to avoid close contact with sick people; and
• Staying home from work or school when you are sick.

Visit the Center for Disease Control's page on H1N1 (Swine) Flu for information on the number of current cases, the facts on transmission, and how you can protect yourself.  Check the site often as information may change.

The Influenza Evidence-based Information Portal is a free resource for physicians, nurses, and patients, containing key evidence-based Influenza information.

The World Health Organization has an interesting Influenza A (H1N1): frequently asked questions site. MedlinePlus, a project of the National Institutes for Health, has an H1N1 Flu(Swine Flu) page as well.  This site is highly recommended as it pools information from reputable and reliable health websites into one convenient place.

The federal government has also created a one-stop site for all things related to swine, avian, and pandemic flu. Pandemicflu.gov is an excellent place to find out how your state is prepared to deal with pandemic flu.

New Mexico's Interim Influenza Emergency Response Plan was prepared in 2006. The New Mexico Department of Health toll-free flu hot line is 1-866-850-5893

Many people are understandably thinking back to the Great 1918 flu epidemic. The Great Influenza by John M. Barry (614.518 Bar) about the 1918 swine flu outbreak is worth checking out, as is Twelve Diseases That Changed Our World by Irwin W. Sherman (NM Tech Library RA649.S44 2007). For a quick history of man and influenza check out Diseases in History- Flu by Kevin Cunningham (614.5 Cunningham). Additionally, the books Viruses by Arnold Levine (616.9101 Levine) and Viruses, Plagues, and History (available in many libraries) may set the current outbreak within a global and historical context.

Additonally, on the Web, check out:

• 1918 - The Influenza Epidemic in New Mexico from the Office of the State Historian
• The Timeline of the 1918 Pandemic at PBS.org
• National Archives' wonderfully informative and absorbing page full of documents and pictures covering the 1918 Influenza.

With special thanks to BES at the Thomas Branigan Memorial Library in Las Cruces, who provided much of the content for this page.