Gov. issues swine flu warning

BURBANK — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger swept through classrooms Tuesday at John Burroughs High School, making the first of what he said he hoped would be thousands of public service announcements on the perils of swine flu and how to prevent its spread.

Schwarzenegger visited culinary arts, broadcast journalism and photography classrooms at the city’s newly distinguished high school before calling on tech-savvy students to team up for the state Department of Public Health’s “Lights, Camera, Save Lives” short film competition.

The competition, open to amateur and professional California residents, provides the opportunity to hone their craft by creating and submitting 15-, 30- or 60-second videos motivating residents to help prevent the spread of H1N1 and seasonal flu, Schwarzenegger said.

“But not one of the action movies that I did,” he told a group of students, educators and city executives. “There will be no cyborgs running around, no Conan with a sword slashing and cutting people’s heads off. No, this is educational, or a [public service announcement.]”

Because news about swine flu has tapered off since April, when U.S. health officials declared a public health emergency, Mark Horton, director of the state Department of Public Heath, said residents have a serious challenge ahead of them as he expects the virus to accelerate as the fall progresses.

“We have a big problem here in this state and all over the country. The virus is not just a regular, seasonal virus or flu,” Schwarzenegger said.

The state has projected one in four Californians will be infected.

“That means thousands of people are going to die,” the governor said. “And it means that 9 million people will be affected by this.”

So far, more than 1 million Americans have contracted the H1N1 virus, which has become a top priority for the Centers for Disease Control. About 593 deaths in the U.S. have been attributed to the new H1N1 swine flu as of Tuesday. Still, the new virus does not appear to be any more deadly than seasonal influenza, of which an estimated 36,000 Americans die from annually, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Along with state officials, Horton called on creative factions of the “YouTube generation” to send a “strong and powerful message that we have a major challenge, and that there are several key steps that individuals can take to face those challenges.”