Ohio: 5 Confirmed Cases Of H1N1 Flu
Reported May 05, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Health officials said two more cases of swine flu have been confirmed in Ohio, bringing the total in the state to five.
The state Health Department said Tuesday the new cases were in northeast Ohio’s Portage and Holmes counties. Both involved 39-year-old women.
The woman in Portage county had recently traveled to southern California and became ill. Officials said she stayed home for a week and has recovered. The woman in Holmes County became ill after returning from a vacation in Mexico but is recovering.
Bret Atkins, spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Health said, “Along with those five we have two probably, which means that testing is not complete and we also have just 35 suspect cases.”
There are no confirmed cases of H1N1 in our immediate area, but the Greene County Combined Health District as well as the Warren County Health Department are investigating possible cases of the virus.
We’re about a week into this outbreak and health officials said some people may have let down their guard.
Health experts said you should continue frequent hand washing to protect yourself and your family from H1N1 and other illnesses. “Teach those around us good cough etiquette and sneeze etiquette. It’s very important, so while we are moving to what may be a slower phase of things, it’s still very important to keep that individual vigilance up,” said Atkins.
U.S. Health officials are no longer recommending that schools close because of the H1N1 Flu. The government last week advised schools to shut down for about two weeks if there were suspected cases. Hundreds of schools around the country have followed that advice and cancelled classes.
The Health and Human Services Secretary now says the H1N1 Flu is milder than initially feared and the government is changing its advice on closing schools.
Source : WHIOTV.com