A Venezuela H1N1 (aka the swine flu) outbreak has spawned over 100 cases of the illness, not epidemic numbers, by Tuesday's count. Fifty-six proven cases of the flu are centered in the state of Merida. The number of H1N1 cases has caused the Venezuelan state to cancel classes for the week and a ban has been placed on all events that would confine groups of people indoors.
The ban on public events is similar to schools across the United States, like Highland, Missouri, canceling sporting events during the 2009 swine flu pandemic. Highland even went so far to forfeit a high school football game after H1N1 caused its Clark County opponents to cancel school, but not the game. The county did not want to send its players and fans in contact with players who may have contracted the swine flu and thought it safer to miss the match-up.
Similar thinking in 2009 also nixed the expected handshake that high school and college graduates receive with their diplomas. In order to avoid the possible contamination and spreading of H1N1, U.S. schools, such as the Northeastern University of Boston and Michigan's Oakland University, informed the public that the physical contact would not be happening with school officials during commencement ceremonies. Northeastern even provided around 100 bottles of hand sanitizer for graduates' friends and families to use as a precaution.
The University of Illinois at Chicago also left the handshake out of ceremonies and provided hand sanitizer during its 14 graduations in May of 2009. The school also cleaned chairs in an attempt prevent the spread of A-H1N1.
While no or minimized public physical contact was a general rule followed by many municipalities across the country, during the swine flu pandemic, two rural Florida counties discovered that in person was the best option to spread word of H1N1 to rural residents. Hendry and Glades County Health Departments utilized department programs, such as inspections at migrant facilities and Healthy Family home visits, to inform populations with little access to current news.
Staff also handed out educational material to agricultural businesses and at their places of worship.
That is not to say that the southern Florida counties went entirely low-tech to spread H1N1 information to its residents. The health departments e-mailed and faxed informational materials to emergency responders, pharmacies and schools. An educational article on the swine flu was also prepared for a local weekly paper.
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