Ga. hospitals screen patients, but no swine flu yet

Metro school districts and health care professionals are urging residents to take precautions to protect themselves from contracting swine flu, although no cases have been reported in the state.

Area hospitals also reported no uptick in people going to emergency rooms with flulike symptoms or worried they may have the disease.

Belen Moran, from Georgia’s Division of Public Health, said the agency is working with public health providers and hospitals, among others. “Right now, there is not a case of the disease in Georgia, but if it arrives, we need everybody to know.”

Matt Gove, a spokesman for Grady Memorial Hospital, said, “We haven’t noticed any increase at this point, but we’re screening patients if they come in and have symptoms consistent with the flu.” At this point, he said Grady staffers are taking the same precautions they usually take, which include washing their hands often and to cover their noses and mouths with a tissue when they sneeze and cough. If someone came to the hospitals with swine flu symptoms, additional precautions would be taken, which include isolation.

Cobb County schools spokesman Jay Dillion said the district is posting general information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including affected locations and preventive measures, on the district and school Web sites.

Elsewhere in the U.S., however, the situation is evolving quickly.

Dr. Louis W. Sullivan, former secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and chairman of the National Health Museum, said what is most troublesome is the profile of people hit hardest so far — the young and healthy. Typically, in flu outbreaks and epidemics, very young children and the elderly are most at risk.

Still, he said, it’s far too early to take extreme measures.

Mexico appears to be the epicenter of the outbreak.

Metro Atlanta is home to a large number of Mexican immigrants, but few people in the clinics, taquerias and shops along bustling Buford Highway expressed much concern about contracting swine flu. That’s because few travel frequently between Mexico and the U.S. Many, though, worry about the well-being of relatives back home.

“I think I am more safe here,” said Adrian Garcia, manager of the Rincon Latino eatery in Doraville, whose brother and parents live in central Mexico. “The worry is that they are having problems there.”

The group most likely to be affected are the children of immigrants, whose parents often send them to their hometowns during school breaks as a way to stay connected to their family, culture and language.

Abad Perulero’s four nephews will miss out on the annual trip to Acapulco.

“We’re not going to take a chance with the children, though I still plan to go,” said Perulero, a translator from Doraville. “But I won’t do any of the common things in Mexican culture: no shaking hands, no kissing on the cheek.”

— Staff reporters April Hunt, Ty Tagami, Shane Blatt, Pat Fox, Eric Sturgis, D.L. Bennett and Kent A. Miles contributed to this article.