Release Date: April 29, 2009
Contact: Christine Patmon, Metro Health Public Relations Manager, 207-8638
Metro Health Provides Status Update on Swine Flu
As of today, April 29, there are no confirmed cases of swine flu in any San Antonio or Bexar County residents.
The San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s laboratory received confirmation this morning from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of a case of human infection with swine influenza A (H1N1) in a non-Bexar County resident. The individual was being treated in Brownsville and was eventually transferred to Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio. The patient arrived at Methodist on Saturday, April 25 and is currently in isolation.
Today, the CDC also confirmed two additional cases of swine flu in Guadalupe County, bringing the number of cases in that county to five. None of the five cases in Guadalupe County have required hospitalization.
There are a number of individuals in our community who are either exhibiting flu-like symptoms or being treated for flu-like illnesses. Laboratory tests are pending on some of these cases. Metro Health, in partnership with the CDC and Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS), is closely monitoring the situation.
Metro Health has an effective Influenza Surveillance system in place and will keep the community informed of any development that warrants a change in recommendations or
guidance. Since the beginning of this swine flu outbreak, on a daily basis, the health department has implemented sections of its pandemic flu plan, which is guided by the CDC, as
to when to implement a full-scale response.
The director of Metro Health is the local health authority for Bexar County and in that capacity has the authority to close public schools or buildings and institute quarantines. At this time, people in our community are advised to continue their normal daily lives as far as work, school, recreation or travel is concerned. Metro Health is not recommending the closure of any schools, daycares or other facilities in San Antonio or Bexar County. Guidance for social gatherings and travel is the same as it was prior to the current swine flu situation, other than the CDC recommendations to avoid non-essential travel to Mexico.
“Residents in Bexar County can trust that we are monitoring this outbreak and we are taking it seriously,” said Dr. Fernando A. Guerra, director of health. “However, this nation experiences more than 36,000 deaths every year from seasonal flu and its complications. Keep that in perspective as this rapidly evolving situation continues to unfold.”
Metro Health and DSHS are working with a CDC team that arrived in San Antonio on Saturday, April 25 to investigate the cases in Guadalupe County and to insure appropriate precautions are being taken to limit exposure to the virus. Swine flu is spreading through human-to-human transmission and local, state and federal health officials are moving aggressively to stop the spread of infection. Thus far, there are 91 confirmed swine flu cases in the U.S. Sixteen of those are in Texas. Most have not required hospitalization.
Metro Health recommends that people take the same precautions advised year-round to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses. Those recommendations are:
Stay at home if you are sick and to keep your children at home if they are ill
Keep your hands clean with consistent and good hand washing with warm water and
soap or a sanitizing gel
Cover your sneeze or cough by using a tissue or the inside of your elbow or sleeve
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
Anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms should follow the same course of action they would with seasonal flu. If the symptoms are mild, stay home, get rest, and use the recommended over-the-counter medications a person normally would use to treat flu-like
symptoms. If the symptoms become more severe, contact your healthcare professional to receive instructions on how to proceed.
Metro Health does not have clinical services to test individuals for swine flu and should not be recommended as a referral by any clinicians or other healthcare
providers for healthcare services. Clinical guidelines for specimen collection and testing as well as other forms are available on Metro Health’s website.
Common symptoms of the flu include:
fever (usually high)
headache
extreme tiredness
cough
sore throat
runny or stuffy nose
muscle aches, and
nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, (more common among children than adults)
For information on swine flu and the latest local, state and CDC updates, visit Metro Health’s main page. Individuals who have questions also can call a state health hotline at (888) 777-5320. Healthcare providers who have questions are asked to call (877) 623-6274.
