Swine flu to test U.S. public health system

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Lorain, Ohio, county health commissioner Ken Pearce had just finished a meal with his wife on Friday when he got the call that a local nine-year-old boy might have a mysterious new kind of flu.

Less than 48 hours later, with the case confirmed, Pearce and the city health commissioner in Elyria, Ohio, had set up a 24-hour command center staffed by hospital, fire department, police and public health workers to watch for more cases.

It is a scenario that is playing out in public health departments across the country as new cases of swine flu continue to pop up.

"Nearly all local health departments are in a heightened state of searching for disease in their community," said Bobby Pestronk, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, which represents nearly 3,000 health departments in the United States.

In a major emergency, Pearce said the county would assemble a medical reserve corps of nurses, doctors and volunteers in makeshift health clinics in churches and fire stations to pass out antiviral medications.

Other measures would kick in as well.

"There would be a request put out by the state public health director to limit movement," he said. People would be asked to leave home as little as possible.

More schools and day care centers would close.