Voice Broadcast Message to all Houston Community Voice Mail Users

Hello.

Here’s an important public health message from Community Voice Mail and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (or CDC). This is a long message, but it contains a lot of good information to help you stay healthy.

You may have heard about the recent outbreak of swine flu virus infection in some parts of the country. As of April 29, 91 total cases of swine flu have been confirmed in 10 states: Arizona, California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio and Texas. Because this flu is potentially dangerous, we want you to know more about it.

The symptoms of swine flu are similar to the symptoms of regular seasonal flu and include fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue. Some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting associated with swine flu. If you live in areas where swine flu cases have been identified and become ill with flu-like symptoms, you may want to contact a health care provider, particularly if you’re worried about your symptoms. If you or your children are ill and experience more severe symptoms, seek emergency medical care.

Like the seasonal flu, human-to-human swine flu can be spread in two main ways: through the coughing or sneezing of infected people, or by touching an object contaminated with swine flu virus and then touching your mouth, nose or possibly eyes. Swine flu viruses are not transmitted by food. You cannot get swine flu from eating pork products.

There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu. However, there are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like flu.

Take these steps to protect your health:

· Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
· Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
· Avoid close contact with sick people.
· If you get sick with flu, the CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

For more information on Swine Flu or any health question, call the CDC 24 hours a day at 1-800-CDC-INFO… or 1-800-232-4636.

This information went out to all 1,841 Houston Community Voice Mail users and their 91 host agencies. Please share this information with all your friends, coworkers and clients. We will send more messages as information changes.