Preparations for a potential outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus are well under way in Missouri, a state health official said Monday night.

Eddie Hedrick, emerging infections coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, said the virus has laid claim to being the fastest-moving pandemic on record. Mr. Hedrick spoke before about 125 members of the Region H Homeland Security Oversight Committee at the Mayes Memorial Armory.

“This isn’t flu season,” he said. “It doesn’t start for a couple of weeks. We haven’t been hit hard with this at all. But it’s coming ... We’re due. We expect to get hit pretty hard in the next couple of weeks.”

He encouraged public service agencies and governments to begin taking steps to encourage vaccinations against swine flu.

State officials continue to monitor the virus for any possible changes. For example, Mr. Hedrick said it’s a good sign that flu in the Southern Hemisphere hasn’t undergone any transformation. Reviews of seasonal flu will begin in December.

According to Mr. Hedrick, effective community strategy would involve employers urging workers to stay home if they’re sick.

The first doses of vaccine are expected to arrive in the state by Sept. 30. Priority categories, such as pregnant women, will be among the first to receive the immunizations or nasal sprays, Mr. Hedrick said.

“This has never been tried before,” he said. A large flu outbreak could be significant enough to severely damage the economy, he added.

“The odds are that we won’t have major emergencies in this first wave,” he said.

Also at the meeting, Paul Fennewald of the state Office of Homeland Security said a regional approach has continued to work well for the past several years.

“We need to reach out to you and ask, ‘What’s important to you?’” he said. “What you need in Northwest Missouri may be different than what you need in southwest Missouri.”

Mr. Fennewald asked committee members to assemble in breakout sessions — by disciplines such as volunteer groups — to assess spending priorities for fiscal year 2010. For fiscal year 2009, Region H received $485,920 of a total $4.4 million in state homeland security funds.

“We’re not just buying stuff, buying toys, that people allude to,” Mr. Fennewald said in the program’s defense.

Ray Scherer can be reached at rscherer@npgco.com.