Dorchester Times: Contagious H1N1 Flu Outbreak In Crete

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Contagious H1N1 Flu Outbreak In Crete

State health experts have announced that Crete is experiencing a swine flu outbreak.

The AP wires report that Nebraska health officials say our neighbor to the east is one of four areas of the state experiencing outbreaks of the highly contagious virus. In addition to Crete, outbreaks have been reported in Omaha, Chadron and Loup City.

The swine flu can cause a fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, sore throat, respiratory congestion, vomiting, diarrhea and, in some cases, death. So far, three deaths in Nebraska are linked to the swine flu.

Also known as H1N1, the swine flu originated in Mexico. Recommendation against travel to Mexico has been issued by the Center for Disease Control. This spring, some health advocates urged the federal government to halt immigration and commerce from Mexico by sealing the border. No such action was taken.

For tips to prevent H1N1 and help stop its spread (including a version in Spanish), click here.

6 comments:

USDAAugust 27, 2009 at 6:32 PM
Please remember the correct term is H1N1 influenza. Pork producers are already suffering economic reprecussions due to high grain prices and public fear due to
H1N1. According to USDA scientists, H1N1 flu is not a foodborne disease, it is a respiratory disease. All meat and poultry products are safe to eat when properly prepared and cooked as this kills all foodborne pathogens.
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Village DwellerAugust 28, 2009 at 10:57 AM
USDA:

Duly noted. We thank you for your information on this important topic.

Please note that the term "swine flu" came directly from the Associated Press story, as cited in the post.

Thank you for your interest.
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AnonymousAugust 29, 2009 at 2:43 PM
Hate to burst your bubble, but is not just in Crete, there have been confirmed cases here in Dorchester. Including one individual I know of that has been hospitalized. In many cases, if the person is in good health, they believe they may just have a cold that will last just a day or two.
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AnonymousSeptember 1, 2009 at 2:12 PM
"Swine flu" actually denotes the Lockerbie bomber flying home to Libya.
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Fulton St. GalSeptember 1, 2009 at 3:38 PM
The cost of illegal immigration, vote-seeking by politicians, and cheap labor...

Influenza is sweeping through Pius X High School, with 170 students out sick Tuesday morning.

"We have a lot of fevers and sore throats," said Principal Tom Korta.

More than a dozen parents have called back to say their students have confirmed cases of the flu.

At least one parent said her child had Influenza A. The office staff hasn't been asking if it's the H1N1 virus, but they're assuming it is, he said.

"We definitely have influenza and we're treating it like it's H1N1."
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AnonymousSeptember 2, 2009 at 2:06 PM
They just need to get all of this figured out...Crete the first week of school sent home 26 kids and Pius X just sent home 170 kids with 12 of them possibly having the virus.
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Dorchester: A Good Little Family Town

Dorchester, Nebraska (est. population 630) is located in northern Saline county. Close in proximity to Interstate 80, Dorchester is only 25 minutes from the state capital of Lincoln (est. population 250,000) and about 55 minutes from Omaha (metro population 725,000).

Dorchester's median resident age is 37 years. In 2005, Dorchester had a median family income of approximately $35,600. The median house value was about $63,000. About 95 percent of Dorchester residents commute to work via Interstate and highways.

The village has a quality public school, which received a $4.1 million expansion and modernization in 2008; it offers a small classrooms and individualized attention. Total enrollment of grades K-12 is around 230-250 students.

Ancestries of the Dorchester area are primarily German (42.4%), Czech (24.9%), Irish (12.5%), English (5.4%), and Dutch (4.9%).

Dorchester Historical Facts

* On July 4, 1871, the railroad reached Dorchester.
* Incorporated in 1881, Dorchester's population grew from 200 to 500 by 1882.
* In 1882, Dorchester had 90 buildings, 35 of which were businesses or public facilities. Brick buildings lined both sides of Washington Avenue for two blocks.
* Dorchester's longest-running newspaper was The Dorchester Star, which was published until the late 1940s.
* By 1889, Dorchester's population is said to have reached 800, while the town housed an opera house, a two-story brick schoolhouse with a bell tower, and four churches.
* By the 1910s, Dorchester had electricity, a water tower and a fire department.
* Dorchester's main arteries, Highways 6 and 33, were graveled in the 1940s.
* Dorchester's first irrigation well was drilled on Chris Weber's farm and rural electrification was finished following WWII.

A Village with History

Dorchester is one of the "alphabet towns" on the Burlington & Missouri River Railroad line built west from Lincoln. The town site was selected for its pleasant location in the northern part of Saline County, about eight miles west of Crete. This situation is an attractive one, being on the level prairie land, midway between the West Blue River and Turkey Creek. The first named stream is three miles north, and the latter about the same distance south from the town. Dorchester was platted in 1870 and incorporated in 1881. The name "Dorchester" came from either for a suburb of Boston by that name or a town in England. No one is sure. Two of the very first settlers were James Seely and Edward McIntyre, who both made Dorchester their permanent home.

Dorchester: In The Beginning

Here is a look at Dorchester around 1890, less than a decade after its official incorporation, as documented by Andreas' History of the State of Nebraska:
* POPULATION: "About 300, and is made up of a substantial and progressive class of citizens, who are moral and industrious. ... The town grew but very little until the year 1879, for the reason that Pleasant Hill, on Turkey Creek, a short distance south, was the county seat and naturally drew a trade for quite a large scope of country."
* BUSINESS: "The business and professional interests of the town are represented by three general merchandise stores, two drug, one grocery, one furniture, two hardware, and two millinery stores, one bank, two restaurants, two hotels, three livery stables, a post office, one newspaper office, two elevators, two lumber yards, two coal yards, two blacksmith shops, two lawyers and four physicians."
* SCHOOL: "The schoolhouse is a good one. The schoolhouse was built in 1872, since which time the public schools have been continually kept up. The present schoolhouse is 24' x 40' in size, two stories high. The school is graded and consists of three departments. The house is found too small, and arrangements will soon be made to increase its size."
* CHURCHES: "There are three substantial churches."
* HOMES: "The residence portion of the village is made up of neat houses of different styles of architecture, but none of them very large."
* NEWSPAPER: "The Dorchester Star, which was established August 21, 1881, by H. C. Bittenbender, who edited it until January 19, 1882, when he sold it to Ryerson & Bullock, the present proprietors. The Star is a bright weekly paper, five-column quarto, in size, and is Republican in politics."