Swine flu threat worries South Carolina farmers
The swine flu has arrived in South Carolina just as the state's farmers are bringing in thousands of workers from Mexico to help with peaches and other crops.
The outbreak has raised concerns about the health of workers already here. Farmers in some parts of the state worry they'll be unable to get enough labor in time to meet critical harvest deadlines, although in Beaufort County, one health official expects little fallout.
While public health officials say there is no evidence Mexican workers have brought the flu to South Carolina, it took a week after the outbreak was first reported in the United States for government officials to reach out to farmers who hire foreign labor.
"We've been slow," said Dr. Jose Rivera, an Orangeburg physician who serves on the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission's Hispanic advisory board.
The state's top health official said resources are sent to places where the threat is highest, such as the Newberry school where students who visited Cancun have probable cases of swine flu.
"When you dedicate resources you have to go where you have a risk," said Dr. Jerry Gibson, the state's chief epidemiologist. "We don't have evidence that any Hispanics have it."
Now, advisories are being sent to farmers, and Spanish brochures are being distributed across the state.
Local farms not likely affected
April and May are the busiest months for migrant farmers crossing the U.S. border on agriculture work permits.
This year, about 3,000 foreign workers -- about 90 percent from Mexico -- will come to South Carolina to help in peach orchards, tobacco fields and other crops, said Gaines Wolfe of the S.C. Employment Security Commission's Rural Manpower program.
Maridolores Donaghy, the outreach coordinator at a migrant health clinic on St. Helena Island, said about 1,200 to 1,400 workers are expected to arrive in Beaufort County before June 1 to pick tomatoes and watermelons.
Most of those workers, however, will come from Florida, she said.
About 175 workers have arrived on St. Helena during the past two months, and all had been living in Florida for at least six months before that, she said.
Based on her discussions with farmers on St. Helena Island, Donaghy expects the majority of workers hired this year will have been living in the United States for several months, though she does not yet have specific information about workers' backgrounds.
Nonetheless,Donaghy said she and others who work at the Leroy E. Brown Medical Center on St. Helena will be on the lookout for workers or relatives who have recently traveled to the United States from Mexico or other countries. The medical center is operated by Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services.
Donaghy has already begun visiting migrant camps to teach workers about flu prevention and the warning signs that identify swine flu.
Neither Beaufort Memorial Hospital nor Hilton Head Regional Medical Center have reported any confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu.
Concerns surface
Public health officials should have notified farmers of potential health hazards last week when the first case of swine flu was identified in the United States, Rivera said.
Action should start with the U.S. Surgeon General and then spread through the Centers for Disease Control and state public health agencies, Rivera said.
In South Carolina, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the S.C. Department of Agriculture should coordinate on bulletins to farmers on how to recognize symptoms and what to do should a worker show signs of having the flu. But marching orders must come from the CDC, he said.
DHEC is working with the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission, Gibson said. On Wednesday, the agency requested assistance from the agriculture department.
Already, there is concern among the state's Hispanic population.
On Tuesday, a group of Hispanic residents arrived at the Anderson County Health Department wearing face masks. Another group of Hispanic people went to an Allendale County clinic to be tested.
All have been tested and do not have the flu, said Jim Beasley, a DHEC spokesman.
"They were worried about being carriers," he said. "That was one of the most conscientious moves by the public we've seen in a long time."
Border delays
For Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Peach Farms in Ridge Spring, the bigger concern is getting the rest of his Mexican workers across the border.
He has hired about 360 Mexican workers so far this season, and most have been here since February, which means they are not at risk.
He was expecting another 60 workers to cross the border May 18 but fears their arrival will be delayed after the consulate coordinating their visas closed because of the flu outbreak.
That will delay the paperwork that needs to be completed before the final group of workers arrive in Ridge Spring.
The newest workers are needed in the packing house.
"It's too late in the game for us to switch to another consulate to supply workers," he said. "Any further into May and it could be a nightmare."
Spreading the word
The swine flu surfaced in Mexico in March. Public health officials have traced the origin to a village in the Mexican state of Veracruz. In South Carolina, the majority of the state's Mexican immigrants are from Veracruz, so people who have recently visited family in the region could have been exposed to the virus.
However, if it has been longer than nine days since a visit, then that person is no longer susceptible, Gibson said.
In South Carolina, 10 people have been diagnosed with probable cases of swine flu. All are U.S. citizens from a Newberry school who visited Mexico.
The Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, N.C., which serves South Carolina, has information about the flu posted on its Web site.
And, DHEC is translating its information about the flu into Spanish. The agency has worked with the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission to distribute information in Spanish, Gibson said.
The outbreak has raised concerns about the health of workers already here. Farmers in some parts of the state worry they'll be unable to get enough labor in time to meet critical harvest deadlines, although in Beaufort County, one health official expects little fallout.
While public health officials say there is no evidence Mexican workers have brought the flu to South Carolina, it took a week after the outbreak was first reported in the United States for government officials to reach out to farmers who hire foreign labor.
"We've been slow," said Dr. Jose Rivera, an Orangeburg physician who serves on the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission's Hispanic advisory board.
The state's top health official said resources are sent to places where the threat is highest, such as the Newberry school where students who visited Cancun have probable cases of swine flu.
"When you dedicate resources you have to go where you have a risk," said Dr. Jerry Gibson, the state's chief epidemiologist. "We don't have evidence that any Hispanics have it."
Now, advisories are being sent to farmers, and Spanish brochures are being distributed across the state.
Local farms not likely affected
April and May are the busiest months for migrant farmers crossing the U.S. border on agriculture work permits.
This year, about 3,000 foreign workers -- about 90 percent from Mexico -- will come to South Carolina to help in peach orchards, tobacco fields and other crops, said Gaines Wolfe of the S.C. Employment Security Commission's Rural Manpower program.
Maridolores Donaghy, the outreach coordinator at a migrant health clinic on St. Helena Island, said about 1,200 to 1,400 workers are expected to arrive in Beaufort County before June 1 to pick tomatoes and watermelons.
Most of those workers, however, will come from Florida, she said.
About 175 workers have arrived on St. Helena during the past two months, and all had been living in Florida for at least six months before that, she said.
Based on her discussions with farmers on St. Helena Island, Donaghy expects the majority of workers hired this year will have been living in the United States for several months, though she does not yet have specific information about workers' backgrounds.
Nonetheless,Donaghy said she and others who work at the Leroy E. Brown Medical Center on St. Helena will be on the lookout for workers or relatives who have recently traveled to the United States from Mexico or other countries. The medical center is operated by Beaufort-Jasper-Hampton Comprehensive Health Services.
Donaghy has already begun visiting migrant camps to teach workers about flu prevention and the warning signs that identify swine flu.
Neither Beaufort Memorial Hospital nor Hilton Head Regional Medical Center have reported any confirmed or suspected cases of swine flu.
Concerns surface
Public health officials should have notified farmers of potential health hazards last week when the first case of swine flu was identified in the United States, Rivera said.
Action should start with the U.S. Surgeon General and then spread through the Centers for Disease Control and state public health agencies, Rivera said.
In South Carolina, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control and the S.C. Department of Agriculture should coordinate on bulletins to farmers on how to recognize symptoms and what to do should a worker show signs of having the flu. But marching orders must come from the CDC, he said.
DHEC is working with the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission, Gibson said. On Wednesday, the agency requested assistance from the agriculture department.
Already, there is concern among the state's Hispanic population.
On Tuesday, a group of Hispanic residents arrived at the Anderson County Health Department wearing face masks. Another group of Hispanic people went to an Allendale County clinic to be tested.
All have been tested and do not have the flu, said Jim Beasley, a DHEC spokesman.
"They were worried about being carriers," he said. "That was one of the most conscientious moves by the public we've seen in a long time."
Border delays
For Chalmers Carr, president of Titan Peach Farms in Ridge Spring, the bigger concern is getting the rest of his Mexican workers across the border.
He has hired about 360 Mexican workers so far this season, and most have been here since February, which means they are not at risk.
He was expecting another 60 workers to cross the border May 18 but fears their arrival will be delayed after the consulate coordinating their visas closed because of the flu outbreak.
That will delay the paperwork that needs to be completed before the final group of workers arrive in Ridge Spring.
The newest workers are needed in the packing house.
"It's too late in the game for us to switch to another consulate to supply workers," he said. "Any further into May and it could be a nightmare."
Spreading the word
The swine flu surfaced in Mexico in March. Public health officials have traced the origin to a village in the Mexican state of Veracruz. In South Carolina, the majority of the state's Mexican immigrants are from Veracruz, so people who have recently visited family in the region could have been exposed to the virus.
However, if it has been longer than nine days since a visit, then that person is no longer susceptible, Gibson said.
In South Carolina, 10 people have been diagnosed with probable cases of swine flu. All are U.S. citizens from a Newberry school who visited Mexico.
The Mexican Consulate in Raleigh, N.C., which serves South Carolina, has information about the flu posted on its Web site.
And, DHEC is translating its information about the flu into Spanish. The agency has worked with the S.C. Minority Affairs Commission to distribute information in Spanish, Gibson said.
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