Local government agencies enact plan to keep employees safe, urge public to take precautions to prevent spread of all types of flu
Pork is fine to consume and the flu you have probably is NOT swine flu
(Talk of the Town photo by Jennifer Zartman Romano)
By Jennifer Zartman Romano
After a three hour meeting between the Whitley County Commissioners, the Emergency Management office and the Board of Health, the issue of flu prevention became a serious priority in the community Tuesday.Immediately following the meeting, the board of health began distributing boxes of face masks to all county employees and provided infection prevention guidance, including instructions to periodically wipe down counters and use hand sanitizer frequently – particularly those county employees who have face to face contact with the general public and with money. 
Broxon-Ball said county employees are also receiving Clorox wipes to clean surface areas and Purell hand sanitizer.
“We’re trying to give our employees, due to the nature of their jobs in providing public service, the ability to keep themselves healthy,” Broxon-Ball said. She adds that while there are concerns about specific types of flu, including swine flu, other varieties are rampant right now and it just makes sense to take precautions to stop the spread of disease when possible.A few years ago, she said, the soaps in county office bathrooms were changed from regular soap to anti-bacterial varieties. She now believes the distribution of masks, hand sanitizer and cleaning cloths will be a seasonal occurrence when people are most at risk for contracting viruses and diseases.
“If there is any possibility of transmitting anything, we don’t want to help spread it, we want to help stop it,” Broxon-Ball said.“There is lots of flu going around right now,” she said. “We have enough problems with people just passing anything at all.”
“If you haven’t been to Mexico or in the proximity of someone who has, you probably do not have the swine flu,” she said of people wondering if they have the type of flu getting so much media attention right now.“We also want to say this: pigs are not going to give you swine flu,” said Broxon-Ball. “Go ahead and eat pork. Eat pork products. You’re going to get swine flu from things like going to the mall or being around other people.”
Broxon-Ball said the most sensible things you can do to prevent yourself and your family from contracting swine flu or any other flu is to keep surface areas clean, avoid contact with sick people, use wet wipes to wash down shopping carts before using them, sanitize your hands after handling money or using the ATM and make a point of frequent hand-washing for yourself and your family.“Our county is monitoring everything from the county EMA and state EMA,” Broxon-Ball said, adding that she’s keeping a close eye on how the much-discussed swine flu is traveling across the area. Yesterday, officials reported a confirmed case of the swine flu at Notre Dame University, but later added that the student had overcome the illness and is now well.
“We want to make sure we’re all there and on top of it,” Broxon-Ball added. “We want to make sure that we’re not overreacting.”