11 new swine flu cases confirmed in state

• By SANDY DAVIS
• Advocate staff writer
• Published: May 12, 2009 - Page: 9A

• Print
• Email
• Save
• Reprints
• Twitter
• Share

• Del.icio.us
• Digg
• Facebook
• Reddit
• 

State health officials announced Monday that 11 more cases of swine flu were confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, bringing the total in Louisiana to 20 confirmed cases in 11 parishes.

“As we expected, our state has additional confirmed cases of H1N1 flu,” Alan Levine, secretary for the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals, said in a DHH news release.

The 20 confirmed cases of swine flu involve: 14 in Lafayette Parish, three in Lafourche Parish, and one each in Ascension, Orleans and St. Landry parishes.

There are still 29 samples from suspected cases in Louisiana waiting to be tested at the CDC’s Atlanta lab.

“Our staff and public health experts remain watchful and continue to work with health-care providers statewide on tracking this virus,” Levine added.

But it’s going to be more difficult to track the disease after the CDC and DHH changed their guidelines Thursday.

The two health agencies now advise that people who have mild flu symptoms do not need to go to the doctor, and should not be tested for swine flu.

Unless people have a severe case of the flu, they will not be given a prescription for the anti-viral medications Tamiflu and Relenza, health officials have said.

“It is expected that most people with novel H1N1 will recover without needing medical care, or testing to see if they have H1N1 flu,” the news release says.

CDC and DHH, however, did say those at high risk for complications from the flu, including pregnant women, the elderly or the very young and people with chronic illnesses, should seek medical care if they have flu symptoms.

“CDC and DHH are recommending antiviral treatment of H1N1 flu only for hospitalized patients with confirmed or suspected H1N1 flu, or those patients who are at higher risk for seasonal influenza complication,” according to the news release.

The CDC describes the H1N1 virus as a flu of “swine origin” that was first detected in April.

The United States finally surpassed Mexico, where it is believed the virus started, in the number of confirmed cases of swine flu.