Flathead County Health Officer Joe Russell said the health department has taken precautions to protect visitors to the Northwest Montana Fair from a new strain of swine flu that passes from pigs to people.

“We put in a portable hand-washing sink,” Russell said.

The department also provided hand-washing posters and the fair manager intends to provide hand sanitizer in the swine area as prevention measures in the face of an increase of cases across the country. Russell said they were on top of the issue described in an Associated Press story in the Friday Inter Lake that warned people to not touch pigs in visits to the fair or other swine venues.

Russell said the information in the story came from a teleconference held by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with health departments across the country. The session informed officials of a five-fold increase in the new swine flu strain with most cases linked to fairs.

The number of cases nationwide jumped from 29 a week ago to 158 this week. Most patients were children, most likely due to close association raising, showing or visiting pigs at agricultural fairs.

CDC officials describe this flu’s symptoms as mild and said it doesn’t seem to spread from person to person. However, any flu poses risk for some people such as those with compromised immune systems.

Russell said the department decided to install the portable sink in the swine area because people were more likely to use facilities located close by.

“Prevention is what we do,” he said.