Officials Reach Out To All Communities About H1N1 Virus

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Health officials are on a push to get the message out about the H1N1 virus to all groups of the population that may not be hearing about it, the elderly and immigrants.

Health Department officials are worried about what they call the special populations. The groups may not be getting an important message that could save lives.
What you need to know about swine flu

"Nashville is also home to the largest number of English language learners," said Metro Mayor Karl Dean.

Metro leaders are wasting no opportunity to get the word out about the deadly virus. At a forum on Hispanic Issues Thursday, the focus suddenly shifted to the swine flu.

"There's really good medical resources here," said Dr. Bill Paul with the Metro Health Department.

There was a concern the immigrant community, many of them uninsured, do not have access to those resources, and could make the problem worse.

El Protector, Metro police's immigrant liaison, got the word out about the virus to the immigrant community.

"El Protector has been working to get posters out and other information out in a lot of different channels and venues," said Paul.

Advocates worried some of the people who work in the restaurant, and other food service industries could then help spread the virus.
How prepared is your state for a pandemic?

"Our community, we will say the Hispanic community, maybe restricted, and its something we all know, but in order to compensate for that, we need to take preventive measurements," said Yuri Cunza with the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Mass emails are being sent out through the community which are printed out into fliers, and contain the latest Centers for Disease Control Swine flu warnings.

Hispanic radio stations are also talking about the issue as well. They are trying to get out the word, that if you don't have insurance, there are places you can go to get free help.

For more information about the H1N1 virus in espanol, click here.