State and local officials are monitoring swine flu developments, but so far there have been no cases reported here and area residents have not rushed to their doctors with flu-like symptoms.

“Clearly there’s not too much happening with people worrying. The calls aren’t there,” Pamela Hadley, infection preventionist at Franklin Memorial Hospital in Farmington, said Monday.

Still, the state, local emergency management groups and hospitals are preparing for swine flu in Maine as spring break travelers return home.

“All the major players that need to be vigilant are watching. But I don’t get the sense we need to do more than that, than just be prepared to react if we need to,” said Phil Nadeau, Lewiston’s assistant city administrator and vice chairman of the Lewiston-Auburn Public Health Committee.

Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dora Anne Mills said the state has been preparing for a pandemic for years and she’s in daily contact with her federal health counterparts. She expects 30,000 to 40,000 doses of anti-viral medicine to arrive in Maine from the federal government.

Hospitals, doctors’ offices and emergency management groups also have pandemic response plans that will go into effect when and if it becomes necessary.

Mills said the goal now is to minimize any impact the flu might have. Her office recommends people wash their hands, cover their nose and mouth when they sneeze or cough, avoid close contact with sick people and stay home when sick.

Hospitals and doctors generally have their own protocol when they encounter a type of flu. That includes asking patients with flu-like symptoms to wear a mask while in the waiting room, taking a travel history along with a medical history and doing a nasal swab when flu testing is needed.

Teresita Maguire, infectious disease associate at Central Maine Medical Center and St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, said her two hospitals and their doctors’ offices have been “even more hyper-vigilant” with that protocol now – especially since a travel history may tell whether a patient has been in an area with confirmed cases of swine flu.

Doctors are asking patients to advise the receptionist that they have flu-like symptoms when they make an appointment.

Area doctors have tested a few people with flu-like symptoms and Mills said Monday that several Mainers have been tested, but all tests came back negative.

For more information on swine flu and updates on any cases in Maine, go to:

Federal CDC: http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/

Maine CDC: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/boh/swine-flu-2009.shtml

To avoid the flu or prevent its spread, the CDC recommends:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.

• Wash your hands often, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective.

• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth since germs spread that way.

• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.

• If you get sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.

St. Mary’s Regional Medical Center will host a public information session on the swine flu at 7 p.m. May 21 at the Lepage Conference Center in Lewiston. The session is free but registration is required. For more information or to register, call 753-5467.

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