King’s Daughters Medical Center officials said a lone case ofswine flu reported in Lincoln County did not come through theirhospital.

“We can say that at this point we have not had any cases ofswine flu at KDMC,” said Chief Regulatory Officer RN Kathy Bridge.”We’ve had one in the county, and my guess is that it came from asample submitted from a physician’s office, because it’s not fromour hospital or lab, as we’ve had no cases in our facility.”

Bridge said there have been many patients tested who weresuffering from flu-like symptoms, but that none of those panned outto be swine flu.

And in all the worry about the pandemic, Bridge said people canfind education.

“This has heightened people’s awareness of hand hygiene,” shesaid. “People really need to think of cleansing their hands throughsoap and water or antibacterial liquids.”

The way the germs are actually spread to the hands, Bridge said,is through droplets from the nose and mouth. So sneezes and coughsshould be handled correctly to prevent passing germs along.

“It gets out through sneezing or coughing, so we try to teachpeople to sneeze in their sleeve,” she said. “Prevent yourself fromaerosolizing what’s coming out of your mouth or nose, because asimple sneeze can travel 3 feet.”

Cleansing the hands not only after sneezing or coughing, butalso after handling doorknobs, gasoline pumps, and anything in abathroom is also vital, Bridge said.

“Just think, when you’re eating in a restaurant, you see so manypeople, and you’ll shake hands with them. Whatever was on theirhands is now on your hands,” she said. “You don’t want to getphobic about it, but be aware.”

But also, when hands look, feel or smell dirty, it’s a tell-talesign that it’s time for a wash.

“Wash or cleanse before you eat, and after you go to therestroom,” Bridge said. “And keep hand gel on your car. You don’tthink about what’s on your hands, and it’s not just the flu. Otherthings spread through hands contaminated with germs.”

Meanwhile, KDMC is working with the Mississippi State HealthDepartment to insure that Lincoln County and Brookhaven residentsstay informed about important developments in the swine flusaga.

“We work very close with the health department. The MississippiDepartment of Health is an excellent partner for us,” she said. “Wework with them in surveillance to help us with early detection tosee if we have a variety of things going on.”

Meanwhile, Bridge also referred people to the healthdepartment’s Web site, http://www.msdh.state.ms.us/, for moreinformation. A hotline is also available for people to call at877-222-9358.

“Those are excellent resources for the general public,” shesaid.