Fighting swine flu costs Ohio $44,000 each day

May 11, 2009 at 12:00a.m.

A new case of the H1N1 virus has been confirmed in the state.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Health officials in Ohio say responding to the swine flu outbreak is costing the state about $44,000 a day, in addition to the money spent by local governments.

The state has 121 people dedicated to its response, and individual counties and cities have dozens of others.

The costs for all levels of government are adding up as officials set up emergency management centers, try to communicate with the public, meet and interview patients and alert people who may have contracted the virus.

Experts estimate it costs local health departments about $1 per resident to respond to the outbreak. That would amount to nearly $750,000 in the state capital of Columbus.

Franklin County, which surrounds Columbus, has 29 employees dedicated to its swine flu response and has spent $37,000 on staffing expenses.

Officials say the costs rise when cases are confirmed.

In Franklin County, three cases have been confirmed: a 31-year-old man, a 33-year-old man and an 18-year-old man who is a student at Ohio State University. Officials say a laboratory is running tests on another probable case involving an unidentified female adult.

In northeast Ohio, tests confirmed swine flu in a 9-year-old boy in Lorain County, a 47-year-old female in Holmes County and a 39-year-old woman in Portage County.

The Ohio Department of Health said Friday that the a new case had been confirmed involving a 30-year-old man in Butler County in southwest Ohio.

The local expense has left some officials even more worried about their tight budgets.

“Unfortunately ... we get funded crisis to crisis,” said Beth Bickford, executive director of the Association of Ohio Health Commissioners.

The state’s costs of responding to those cases are small compared to the national bill for the swine flu outbreak.

President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency money for 2009 in the wake of the outbreak and also requested approval of $584 million for pandemic flu efforts.