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May 3, 2009
The
1-800-342-3557
Florida has three confirmed cases; one in
Lee, one in Broward, and one in Orange County.
The Orange County confirmed case is a 14 year old female visitor who has
returned to Mexico.
Alachua, Pinellas, Indian River, Okeechobee, Lee, and Clay have one
probable case each. Palm Beach and Miami Dade have two each.
Hillsborough County has five probable cases.
A public health emergency was declared by the State Surgeon General.
A toll free information line has been established to address an
increasing number of calls from the public requesting Swine Flu
information. The number is 1-800-342-3557 and it is open from 8 a.m.
to 8 p.m
Samples are being received by Florida Department of Health Laboratories
for analysis from physicians and hospitals across the state.
The Department of Health continues enhanced surveillance and outreach to
physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals. The
surveillance system, consisting of sentinel physicians reporting
influenza activity, DOH laboratories receiving specimens from physicians
and hospitals and our ability to monitor emergency room cases and over-
the-counter drug sales is fully operational. We have activated our
response plan and are ready to respond to any cases of swine flu if it
should occur.
Department of Health continues its enhanced surveillance with a network
of Sentinel Physician Providers. These providers send selected samples
of laboratory specimens to state laboratories for testing if they have
patients with influenza like illness (ILI). These physicians also
continue to report weekly ILI cases to the Department of Health.
Anti-virals have been pre-positioned to areas of potential need. We have
over one half million individual courses.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reported 226
confirmed cases of novel influenza in the United States, with one death
in a twenty-three month old.
The World Health Organization (WHO) alert level remains at Phase 5. The
declaration of a Phase 5 is a strong signal that the pandemic is
imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication,
and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short.
Participation in Centers for Disease Control and other national
conference calls will continue.
The State Surgeon General provided these recommendations:
People with respiratory illness should stay home from work or school to
avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the
community.
* Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear
ill.
* Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
* Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.
People experiencing cough, fever and fatigue, possibly along with
diarrhea and vomiting, should contact their physician.
If you think you have influenza, please call your health care provider
and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office, emergency
department or stay home.
Duval County Health Department
900 University Blvd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32211
253-1000
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