Re: Confirmed/Suspected Cases in New York State outside NYC
News updates for 6/7/09:
Reported by The Watertown Daily Times in Watertown, NY:
Lewis County confirms second case of swine flu. The person had no history of travel to Mexico or downstate, was not hospitalized, and is recovering at home. Health officials are monitoring contacts for signs of illness.
http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20090606/NEWS04/306069963/-1/NEWS
Reported by the Rome Sentinel in Rome, NY:
Oneida County has no confirmed cases yet, but on Thursday officials sent 1 suspected case to the state lab for testing. Results on that case are due back Monday. Neighboring Madison County had its first 2 cases confirmed on Thursday. Both patients are recovering at home. Some of the newest cases reported in Onondaga County include an inmate at the Onondaga County Justice Center.
http://romesentinel.com/news?newsid=20090605-141434
Reported by Newsday.com in Long Island:
Inmate in Syracuse jail confirmed with swine flu
SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Officials say a jail inmate in Syracuse has the swine flu, and that's causing concern among deputies and inmates that they could be exposed.
Jail officials say the 34-year-old male inmate remains in the Onondaga County Justice Center's general population. But he's only allowed out of his cell when other inmates are in theirs. His illness is one of 49 confirmed cases in the county, which has so far recorded the state's only H1N1-related death outside of New York City.
Chief Custody Deputy Richard Carbery says the jail is following the federal Centers for Disease Control's protocols to keep inmates and deputies safe from exposure.
State health officials reported 866 confirmed cases as of Thursday. Seven deaths in New York City have been linked to the infection.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--swineflu-jail0605jun05,0,1775389.story
Reported by the Lower Hudson Journal News in White Plains, NY
Swine Flu Could Be on the Rise in Rockland
RAMAPO - Schools throughout Rockland are seeing a rise in the number of students out sick with flulike symptoms, and health officials suspect that many of those children have the swine flu, a disease that has been fairly mild as it spreads through the region. The total number of confirmed cases of the illness in Rockland remains at eight, according to the state Department of Health.
But the real number of people ill with the virus is probably much higher, officials said. "We know that the H1N1 flu virus is widespread in the county," said Kathleen Henry, deputy director of the Rockland Department of Health.
The county will not disclose any information about the confirmed cases - including where those people live, officials said.
The state Department of Health, which conducts the testing, gives that information to the county and leaves it up to the local officials to release it. According to the state department, officials are not permitted to give out information that would enable patients to be identified, such as an individual's name or a street address.
But there is nothing in state regulations that would prevent officials from disclosing what town or community a person lives in as long as that information would not enable the person to be identified, a spokeswoman said.
Swine flu is being reported throughout the state. There were 930 confirmed cases as of Friday, according to the state Department of Health. Two children in Mahopac last week became the first people in Putnam County with the illness. There have been 36 confirmed cases in Westchester, including residents of Yonkers, Port Chester, Scarsdale, Rye, Tarrytown and New Rochelle.
Suffern pediatrician Janice Montague said she started to see an unusually high number of young patients with fever, sore throat, runny nose, body ache and cough early last week.
http://www.lohud.com/article/2009906070360
.... and here's the Star Gazette trying to follow up with more information on the Steuben case. Compare this article to the one above....
Reported by The Star Gazette in Elmira, NY:
Swine case confirmed in Steuben Youngster
A Steuben County child has the H1N1 virus, more commonly known as swine flu, the county Public Health and Nursing Department announced Friday.The child is recovering at home, according to a press release from the department. The department says it is notifying individuals who have had close contact with the child and educating them about the virus.
However, Lorellie Evans, public health educator and public information officer, said the department is not allowed to release other information about the child, including if he or she is of school age and where the youngster lives.
She said there are no other suspected cases of the virus in Steuben, as the county has received all test results back from the state.
Now that one case of the virus has been confirmed, the state's guidelines for reporting suspect cases from the county become stricter, Evans said. Only cases involving hospitalization in which the patient also tests positive for Influenza A or an unknown type of influenza will be sent to the state for further testing, she said.
"We no longer need to know it's here; we know it's here," Evans said.
Symptoms of H1N1 include fever over 100, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills, fatigue, and some people have reported diarrhea and vomiting, which are not usual symptoms of seasonal flu. People are advised to use common sense to avoid the virus such as covering their mouth when they cough, washing hands frequently, throwing used tissues into the trash and avoiding close contact people who are ill.
http://www.stargazette.com/article/20090606/NEWS01/906060383/1117/Swine+case+confirmed+in+Steuben+youngster
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