Massachusetts cases

[Nancy]

Wednesday, April 28, 11am: Local NPR station in Boston (WBUR) is reporting 2 confirmed cases in Massachusetts: 2 brothers, age 8 and 10 from Lowell, MA. They recently traveled to Mexico and were infected while on vacation.

Their illness was mild, they were not hospitalized, and they are said to be recovering. They boys' mother works for the school system, but she has not been to work since her trip to Mexico. The boys did not return to school in Lowell after their trip so authorities are not particularly concerned about it spreading through the schools.
Announced by MA Gov Deval Patrick.

 

[Shiloh]

Re: Massachusetts cases

Source: http://www.wickedlocal.com/woburn/news/x1993047998/Confirmed-cases-of-H1N1-in-Massachusetts-grows

Confirmed cases of H1N1 in Massachusetts grows
Tue May 05, 2009, 02:16 PM EDT


Burlington - The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) today announced 28 additional confirmed cases of H1N1 (swine flu) in Massachusetts. Each of the new cases is expected to fully recover and none of the cases are hospitalized. There are now 34 confirmed cases in Massachusetts, 23 from Middlesex County alone.

The increase in the number of confirmed cases is the result of confirmatory testing now being done at the Hinton State Laboratory Institute. Previously, testing of all suspect and probable cases was performed only at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, which resulted in a backlog of samples for testing.

Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Judy Ann Bigby stressed how residents can protect themselves, their families and communities against the virus. ?There are simple things we can all do to stop the spread of illness: wash your hands with soap and warm water, cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue or your sleeve, and stay home if you?re sick,? Dr. Bigby said.

DPH officials continue to take steps to increase surveillance of influenza-like illness in Massachusetts, working in close partnership with health care providers, hospital emergency departments, and other partners at the local, state and federal level. As confirmed and probable cases have been identified in schools, DPH has also been working to help administrators determine the best course of action to protect the health of other students in their facilities.

?We want to be proactive in offering assistance to schools and local communities which have been affected by the H1N1 outbreak,? DPH Commissioner John Auerbach. ?The guidance from CDC has been changing often and we are working constantly to help our community partners to interpret that guidance.?

State health officials have begun to provide critical health care partners with necessary material from the federal stockpile of medications and supplies that the state recently received. This initial push will help alleviate short-term problems that have been identified in the health care supply chain.

H1N1 is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs but it?s possible for swine flu viruses to spread from person to person as well. Swine flu is not transmitted by food and you cannot get swine flu by eating pork products.

For more information, visit www.cdc.gov/swineflu. For more information on the Massachusetts response, and how to care for someone at home who has the flu, visit www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu.