20 "suspect"' swine flu cases in Miami-Dade

Date: 4/29/09

Link: http://www.miamiherald.com/1484/story/1024433.html

Source: Miami Herald

Main Points:

1. Twenty possible swine flu cases have been identified in Miami-Dade County, health officials said Wednesday. But it could be several days before the test results come back.
2. The cases are considered ''suspect'' because the patients have flu symptoms and have traveled to Mexico or other areas where the swine flu has been identified.
3. ''If they have fever and respiratory symptoms and they've traveled, they meet the definition [for testing],'' Conte said.
4. The viral samples, collected over the past few days, have been sent to the Florida Department of Health lab in Tampa, he said. Virologists there will analyze them to see if they can identify them as regular seasonal flu. If they can't, they will send them on to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for final analysis. Results might take five days or more, they said, because of a backlog in cases.
5. Suspected cases in Broward are also sent to a state lab in Miami, but Broward County Health Department spokeswoman Candy Sims wouldn't discuss numbers.
6. ''There may have been many samples submitted for testing, but that's all I can say,'' she said.
7. The health department is not seeking to quarantine the suspect individuals.
8. ''We're asking their families and doctors to have them remain in voluntary isolation,'' said Dr. Fermin Leguen, an epidemiologist for the health department.
9. He said the individuals were identified by private physicians, hospitals and health clinics.
10. ''The CDC is the only lab in the country that can do the analysis, and they're inundated with samples from the whole country,'' Conte said.

Comments: Let’s see what happens. I hope the truth comes out.

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