The threat of the H1N1 virus is real. It’s so real in Redding that it is brought together strange bedfellows…strange hospital bedfellows.

It has maybe never happened before. Mercy and Shasta Regional Medical Centers are working together on a swine flu awareness campaign. Billboards have already gone up, and you will soon start seeing television, radio, and newspaper announcements. They are co-sponsored by SRMC, Mercy Medical, and Shasta County Public Health.

Officials say this is the first time the competing hospitals have come together for a coordinated media campaign, at least to their knowledge.

The hospitals are still competitors, but the effort might make them less of rivals.

One of the thrusts of the campaign is to keep people away from the emergency rooms and the doctor's office, unless it is really necessary. You should seek medical treatment if you cannot stop vomiting, you have difficulty breathing, you are dehydrated, or you have an underlying medical condition.

If you just have a cough and a fever, stay home and keep it to yourself. This is the season for sharing, but not sharing germs.