Beginning Monday, those under 18 years of age are banned from visiting Scotland Memorial Hospital.

Hospital officials said Wednesday that they are putting the restriction in place as a proactive measure to contain the H1N1, or swine flu virus.

Children who arrive at the Laurinburg hospital for treatment will be admitted.

Lisa Byrd, director of risk and clinical services at the hospital, said the measure was necessary to contain the growing threat of this new strain of influenza. So far, seven cases of H1N1 have been confirmed in Scotland County, according to hospital officials.

"In an effort to protect our staff and patients, we will begin restricting visitors to the hospital," Byrd said. "We are allowing two per patient; these visitors must not be showing any signs of the flu, and they must be 18 years of age or older."

Byrd said anyone aged under 18, whether they are showing symptoms or not, will be asked not to enter the hospital as a visitor.

The labor and delivery department will continue to admit three visitors per patient, as is current policy, but with some alterations according to Byrd.

"We will continue to allow three visitors of the mother's choosing into the labor and delivery area of the hospital," Byrd said, "but these must also be 18 or older and asymptomatic. We appreciate the community's cooperation as we implement these new restrictions."

The influx of patients with flu-like symptoms has been so prevalent, however, that health care practitioners have discontinued testing and now assume a patient with influenza-like symptoms suffers from swine flu.

"We currently have 12 staff members out of work with what we believe to be H1N1," employee health nurse Tammy Holloway said. "This is the first time I've seen this number of employees absent from the flu at this time of the year."

While the effects of H1N1 appear to be no worse than other strains of influenza, the potential for widespread loss of personnel is a scenario that hospital officials say they must address.

"One of our biggest concerns is keeping our employees healthy," Byrd said. "With more and more employees getting sick, and without a vaccine available for the next month or more, we need to initiate plans to take care of the public."

Symptoms of the H1N1 strain include a fever of 100 degrees or more accompanied by upper respiratory issues including a sore throat and coughing.

Hospital officials encourage self isolation, if possible, as a first step before seeking medical attention from a professional.

"Unless you are acutely ill, stay home and monitor your symptoms for a day or two, take Tylenol or Motrin, and try to rest," Infection Control Practitioner Eva Dozier said. "And please remember to practice good hygiene techniques. This includes coughing or sneezing into a tissue and then disposing of that tissue, using hand sanitizer frequently, and most importantly, washing your hands as often as possible."

The hospital is preparing to initiate the use of wellness stations at every entrance, where hand sanitizer, masks and handouts about H1N1 will be available to the public.

For information contact Dozier at 291-7515 or visit the Web sites www.cdc.gov or www.flu.gov.