Even as global pandemic fears start to fade, the swine flu is most likely coming to Mississippi, state health officials said.

“We’ll be surprised if the first case doesn’t occur fairly soon,” said Dr. Ed Thompson, state health officer with the Mississippi Department of Health.

But Mississippi and Louisiana state officials and local governments and hospitals say they’ll be ready when the newly renamed H1N1 flu arrives.

Tim Trottier, CEO of Natchez Community, said in an e-mail the hospital’s corporate pharmacy is coordinating to rapidly deliver all drugs needed.

“Should we exceed our capacity, we have a process in place with our sister Health Management Associates and other facilities to help manage our overflow volume.”

At Natchez Regional Medical Center Infection Control Nurse Kim McDaniel said the hospital has been ready for flu outbreaks since 2007 and has been in constant contact with the MDOH.

If H1N1 shows up in Natchez, the staff will keep the sick patients in separate rooms.

The hospital is also expecting a shipment of antiviral drugs and gloves, gowns and masks.

Local emergency management directors will take their orders directly from the state if the epidemic hits Louisiana or Mississippi. Both states have pandemic plans.

“We would set up whatever they tell us we need to be doing, but we would only be doing it through the state’s advice,” Concordia Parish Emergency Management Director Morris White said. “At that point, the hospital would start working through the department of health.”

Because it spreads through person-to-person contact, should swine flu make its way into the area, White said he thinks the rural nature of the area would be a benefit.

“We don’t have the populated area that they do in the cities, so it is going to be harder for it to carry through these rural areas than it does in places like Baton Rouge and large cities like that,” he said.

Concordia Parish School District officials had a conference call with the state department of education Friday, and they were given a phone number to call if there is a suspected case of swine flu in the school system, Superintendent Loretta Blankenstein said.

The district has provided principals with handouts detailing the symptoms of swine flu.

“We have asked the principals to keep a close watch on the children and the faculty, and if they have someone who exhibits flu-like symptoms, they will have to go to the doctor and have a note from the doctor before they can return,” Blankenstein said.

If there is a case of suspected flu, the district would examine how many absences from the school there were that day and would determine if they needed to close the school or take some other course of action, Blankenstein said.

The schools are also reinforcing good hygiene habits.

“We always ask the children to wash their hands and try to use a tissue if they sneeze or cover their mouths if they cough,” Blankenstein said.

In the meantime, they will receive daily updates from the state department, Blankenstein said.

“Basically, we’re handling it like we normally would during flu season,” she said.

Natchez-Adams School District Superintendent Anthony Morris said he would also get direction from the state on how to appropriately handle a pandemic.

The state superintendent of education Hank Bounds has set up a Web site to keep schools up to speed with outbreak news.

Bounds said since no cases of the flu have been found in the Mississippi all schools must remain open.

Thompson said controlling the epidemic curve is about all anyone can do.

“The epidemic cannot be contained,” he said. “The horse is not out of the barn, he’s all over the pasture.”

Social distancing is the key to maintaining the spread, such as canceling large public events, having those ill stay at home and shuttering schools.

To stay informed on all swine flu-related news, visit the Mississippi State Department of Health’s Web site at www.healthyms.com or emergency.louisiana.gov in Louisiana.