So with all of that information...what does all this mean for us locally? Perry Olson talked with an Infectious Disease Specialist for this week's Eye on Health.

It was the breaking news last week Swine Flu sweeping the country of Mexico and popping up throughout the world...but what is it?

"It has lots of similarities to the regular influenza that we see each winter but at the same time it has many unique features that we have not seen before."


This illness is spreading extreamly quickly. The small world we now live in makes really no place on it safe from swine flu...one trip on an airline can bring it to every corner of the globe.

"Because of the global villiage that we live in now diseases can travel very fast from one part of the world to another. Currently the epicenter is in Mexico but we know it has spread to several states in the US already."


What does all this mean to us in North Dakota? Should we be wearing masks like we've seen others doing on the news each night?

"If you are caring for anyone with the symptoms that we talked about you should wear a mask if you are close to them, otherwise in going about daily activity there is no reason in ND to wear a mask."


What we do need to do is just be vigilant and stay clean with good hand washing...and common sense.

"So everybody needs to be aware and take the proper precautions to try and prevent it from spreading."


With your Eye on Health, Perry Olson, KX News. ROLL COMMERCIALS AFTER TRINITY TAG watch the video | save this article / add to your favorites list