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Florida has 8 possible swine flu cases

Date: 5/1/2009

Link: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/breaking-news/story/1027565.html

Source: Miami Herald

Main Points:

1. Five additional cases of possible swine flu from Florida have been referred to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for analysis, bringing to eight the total number of Florida cases pending at CDC, according to state officials.
2. Florida Surgeon General Dr. Ana Viamonte Ros said Friday morning that two cases are from Palm Beach and Lee counties, and one each is from Pinellas, Orange, Broward and Alachua. The state has been told a review of each case takes about 48 hours.
3. No case from Miami-Dade were referred from the Florida Department of Health to the CDC for final analysis, although Miami-Dade has submitted 20 suspected cases to the state. The state lab sends samples on to the CDC only when it cannot identify them as regular, seasonal flu.
4. In a late-morning briefing the CDC increased the number of confirmed U.S. cases of swine flu from 109 to 141. The only death is that of a 23-month-old boy in Texas who contracted the disease in Mexico.
5. Health officials point out that the regular, seasonal flu kills an average of 36,000 Americans each year and infects millions.
6. Also on Friday the CDC issued new guidelines recommending that communities with lab-confirmed cases of swine flu consider closing schools and child-care centers -- taking into consideration the number of cases, the severity of illness and other factors.
7. It said supplies from the CDC's Strategic National Stockpile are being sent to all 50 states, and that federal health researchers have begun developing a vaccine against the virus. But it said no vaccine is expected before the fall.
8. Ros, the state's chief health officer, urged Floridians to take the usual precautions: Wash your hands regularly, don't sneeze or cough into open areas, and stay home if you are sick.
9. ''We have no protocols at this time that we are suggesting folks to change or alter,'' Viamonte Ros said. ``Other than, again, if you're sick, don't go into the public, if you have children that are sick, don't send them to school. Take your regular, common-sense precautions to be healthy. But no, we are not suggesting t this point to divert activities.''
10. Masks and antiviral medications have been distributed throughout the state, and CDC guidelines are on the Department of Health's website, www.doh.state.fl.us.
11. Influenzas run in three-month cycles in most cases, she said, and a case of the flu generally lasts from five to seven days.
12. Viamonte Ros said there have been instances in Florida in which people with only upper respiratory distress but no swine flu symptoms are overrunning emergency rooms. ''Many of these folks are the worried well. That's who we definitely don't want going to the emergency rooms,'' she said. ``So far, thank goodness, we've had a very low level of severity for this illness.''

Comments:

 

Swine Flu Continues to Blaze Across the Map

Date: 5/1/2009

Link: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,518578,00.html

Source: FOX News

Main Points:

1. U.S. authorities are pledging to eventually produce enough swine flu vaccine for everyone but the shots couldn't begin until fall at the earliest.

 

2. On Friday, the World Health Organization raised its tally of confirmed human cases to 331 from 257.

 

3. The global body says 11 countries have now reported confirmed cases, including Germany, which confirmed Friday the first case of swine flu transmission within the country.

 

4. Clinics and hospital emergency rooms in New York, California and some other states are seeing a surge in patients with coughs and sneezes that might have been ignored before the outbreak.

 

5. Scientists were racing to prepare the key ingredient to make a vaccine against the never-before-seen flu strain — if it's ultimately needed. But it will take several months before the first pilot lots begin required human testing to ensure the vaccine is safe and effective. If all goes well, broader production could start in the fall.

 

6. "We think 600 million doses is achievable in a six-month time frame" from that fall start, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Craig Vanderwagen told lawmakers.

 

7. "I don't want anybody to have false expectations. The science is challenging here," Vanderwagen told reporters. "Production can be done, robust production capacity is there. It's a question of can we get the science worked on the specifics of this vaccine."

 

8. Until a vaccine is ready, the government has stockpiled anti-viral medications that can ease flu symptoms or help prevent infection. The medicines are proving effective.

 

9. In the U.S., 130 cases have been confirmed in 20 states, although state health experts say the count is likely much higher. Among the U.S. cases confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are 51 in New York, 16 in Texas and 14 in California, as well as scattered cases in Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Arizona, Indiana, Nevada, Ohio, Maine and South Carolina.

 

10. State officials also confirmed cases in Minnesota, Georgia, New Jersey, Delaware, Utah, New Jersey, Virginia and Colorado. On Thursday night, Illinois health officials announced the number of probable swine flu cases in the state had more than doubled to 41.

 

11. About 300 of the nation's 132,000 schools have closed, including schools on both coasts and in the nation's heartland. More are likely to shut their doors in coming days. Additionally, high school, college and professional sporting events have been called off nationwide due to increasing fears.

 

12. Nebraska's chief medical officer says federal tests have confirmed the first case of swine flu in the state. It involves a California man in his 40s who's vacationing in the Omaha area. Health officials have said the infection ultimately will be reported as a California case because the CDC counts cases of infectious disease by residence.

 

13. Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle declared a public health emergency after two more probable cases of swine flu were identified in Wisconsin Thursday.

 

14. And a pediatrician in Washington state saw 22 patients with flu-like symptoms before she developed serious symptoms and went to the emergency room.

 

15. The Pennsylvania Department of Health says it continues to find people who it considers to be probable swine flu cases. It is investigating three new possible cases.

 

16. Virginia officials say they have turned up two confirmed cases of swine flu in the state. In both cases, the patients - who have since recovered - had traveled to Mexico.

 

Comments: I have read that the total number of states with the H1N1 virus is up to 20. Why does the CDC not recognize it? Well, some of these states have "probable" or "suspected" because they tested the samples, but only CDC would officially confirm the cases. I also heard that very soon they will stop giving out totals for cases of people who have the H1N1 virus because the CDC is very back-logged and in reality the number of people doesn't really matter. What really matters is if people are dying and if the virus appears in another region of the world. The latter would constitute an update to Phase 6 – full pandemic. Stay tuned….