The institute is sending Dr. Arlene Seña-Soberano, associate professor of medicine at UNC and medical director of the Durham County Health Department to the state to assist with efforts related to swine flu (there are still no confirmed cases of the virus in NC). I hope to post updates from Dr. Seña-Soberano very soon.
Pia MacDonald, our Latin America projects manager and Director of the North Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness reports that their office is organizing students who are working 2-day shifts at the public health command center in the Cooper Building in Raleigh. They are doing triage, fielding calls from clinicians and local health departments.
I will soon be posting a memo from our director, Myron Cohen, MD, who has been talking with the media for three days straight, and thinks we need to clarify some things about this virus.
From Pia MacDonald:
Update regarding Team Epi-Aid activities
On Wednesday (4/29), three Team Epi-Aid students volunteered at the Public Health Command Center in Raleigh. The NC Division of Public Health (NCDPH) requested assistance from Team Epi-Aid, a graduate student volunteer group that provides surge capacity to state and local health departments during infectious disease outbreaks and other emergencies. At the command center, students answered phone calls from local clinicians and health departments related to the ongoing outbreak of H1N1 influenza in the U.S. and worldwide. Volunteers may continue to provide assistance as needed by NCDPH; one student is in the Command Center today (4/30).