Sacramento County's chief public health official said she will recommend that a state of emergency be declared in the county because of the dramatic rise in the number of cases of H1N1 flu.
Sacramento County's board of supervisors is expected to consider the request at its meeting tomorrow.
Increased concern over the spread of the novel flu comes on heels of the latest H1N1-related death in Sacramento County - the 15th since last April, when the virus first appeared in the region.
County officials could not provide specific details on that fatality.
On Monday Health Official Dr. Glennah Trochet said the flu matter is now "urgent" and expressed alarm at the accelerating rate of H1N1 flu infections. But Trochet stopped short of calling the situation a public health disaster.
Trochet explained the declaration would give her department flexibility in working with hospitals to address the spread of the virus. It would allow hospitals, for example, to put into play many of the planned emergency measures - such as increasing the number of beds in hospital emergency departments. It also grants the county health department authority to shut down schools, if necessary. Trochet said there are no immediate plans to do that, although the declaration would allow her to open discussions with school officials should the virus spread.
"If you see a train coming toward you, you want to slow it down," Trochet said of her request for an emergency declaration.
Trochet said she also is concerned about the delayed shipment of thousands of doses of anti-viral vaccine for the H1N1 virus.
The county was expected to receive at least 50,000 doses of the vaccine, but has yet to receive that amount. The county has already used up the initial 10,000 doses of spray vaccine it received to give to children. The vaccine has been trickling in, Trochet said, but the county is not sure the full number of doses now available.
The county is slated to open the first open H1N1 vaccine clinic on Nov. 16th, at Hiram Johnson High School in Sacramento.
The proposed declaration of an emergency also comes as the county health department is reeling from cuts forced by a dwindling Sacramento County budget. The department's staff has shrunk by 30 percent since June, and has relied on volunteers from area hospitals to cope with the increasing flu problem.
Call The Bee's Bobby Caina Calvan, (916) 321-1067.
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