Virginia Swine Flu Telephone Hotline

Virginia Swine Flu Telephone Hotline


The number of U.S. swine flu cases is now up to 109. So far there are no reported illnesses in Virginia but there are a lot of worried people. Many of those people have been calling the Virginia Swine Flu Telephone Hotline.
Workers at the Virginia Department of Health have fielded about 500 calls since the phones opened this morning. Those lines will be open again tomorrow. A lot of the callers wanted to know what to do about their plans to travel to Mexico.
The health department continues to test people for swine flu and send those samples to the Centers for Disease Control. Officials say it will be early next week before they can run those tests here.
Meanwhile folks across the commonwealth are looking for answers.
Nancy Keohane, of the Virginia Department of Health said, “People are really wanting to know about the symptoms that they may experienced and then what to do and also how do prevent exposure and keep themselves well.”
If you have questions about swine flu, the hotline number is 1-877-ASK-VDH3. The lines will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday. Health officials will decide sometime in the next 24 hours whether to keep the phone bank open through the weekend.
If you call the hotline chances are health experts will stress a couple things with you. First, that you can't catch swine flu by eating any pork products and second, that the best prevention is what mom always told you - wash your hands.