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BAMBERG, Germany — The 40,000 soldiers and family members living in the German state of Bavaria shouldn’t be alarmed by reports that up to six people living in the state might have contracted swine flu, U.S. medical officials say.
Those U.S. Army Medical Department Activity Bavaria officials, who run seven primary health clinics for soldiers in Bavaria, said they have things under control.
"The folks here are fine," Col. Theresa Schneider, commander of Bavaria MEDDAC, said during a telephone interview Friday.
Despite recent reports by German health officials that confirmed two cases of swine flu and said another four people are suspected of having the virus in Bavaria, the risk for military personnel living in Bamberg, Grafenwöhr, Hohenfels, Illesheim, Katterbach, Schweinfurt and Vilseck is no different than any other part of the world, Schneider said.
In addition, U.S. medical officials are working closely with German health officials in the area to ensure everyone knows what the plan is should the H1N1 virus — also known as swine flu — reach an epidemic level.
"The risk here is low, as long as you follow the common-sense guidelines," Schneider said.
Those guidelines are:
Wash hands regularly.Practice good hygiene.Sneeze or cough into your sleeve, not your hands.Get plenty of sleep.Stay home if you are not feeling well.Avoid close contact with people who are sick.Health officials who are monitoring the strain very closely say it appears to be getting less severe as it passes on, according to Dr. Phil Murray, chief of preventive medicine for MEDDAC. He compared its severity to a regular seasonal flu.
The virus appears to be getting less severe as it moves farther from the epicenter in Mexico where it began, he said.
Furthermore, "the Germans have a great plan set up to make sure that it doesn’t spread further," Schneider said.
Still Schneider says if the virus were to reach a pandemic level and start affecting the U.S. forces in Europe, health officials would be ready.
"There are plans already in place," she said.
Those plans include using German medical facilities in case the virus becomes widespread in a certain military community, and closing schools and gyms to avoid further spread of the disease, according to Anne Torphy, public affairs officer for the Bavaria MEDDAC.
"There are just so many possible scenarios for the outcome of this virus," said Torphy.
Despite not knowing the outcome the virus will cause, the World Health Organization raised its global pandemic alert last week, saying the disease is no longer containable and health authorities need to prepare for outbreaks. It’s the first time the warning has been raised to Phase 5 since the six-step system was adopted in 2005.
