City of Duarte Responds to Swine Flu Outbreak
With isolated cases in nine countries including about 100 believed to be infected in the United States, the World Health Organization (WHO) has raised the pandemic alert level to Stage 5. WHO says the phase 5 alert means there is sustained human-to-human spread in at least two countries. It also signals that a global outbreak of the disease could be imminent and efforts to produce a vaccine will be ramped up.
In response to this international health situation, the City’s goal is to provide up to the minute updates on this rapidly changing outbreak from several of the most respected national and local sources including the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS). To facilitate this information delivery, the City has added a “Swine Flu” button to the “Hot Topics” section of its website. The button is located at the top right hand corner of the homepage.
The CDC webpage with a national focus has created a “Swine Flu” page with over 12 links and prominently displayed Frequently Asked Questions. The County website has a “DHS News” listing on its homepage with all current county and state breaking stories on the virus. Both pages also conveniently translate to Spanish. Key phone information for both agencies is as follows:
Center for Disease Control
T 800-CDC-INFO
(800-232-4636)
TTY: (888) 232-6348 24 Hours/Every Day
and
County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health Acute Communicable Disease Control
313 N. Figueroa Street, Room 212 Los Angeles, CA 90012
Phone: (213) 240-7941
Fax: (213) 482-4856
Printed information is also available at City Hall in both English and Spanish.
