OMAHA, Neb.—A California man vacationing in Omaha may have the swine flu that’s sickened people in 10 states, but state and county officials emphasized Wednesday there is no need for panic.
The man, who is visiting from San Diego, is in his 40s and said to be doing well after getting sick over the weekend. His condition hasn’t required him to be hospitalized and he is expected to remain in isolation through the end of the week.
County health officials said the man has been on anti-viral medication since Sunday when he sought treatment at an Omaha-area hospital. Health officials also believe he was exposed to the virus in the San Diego area and not in Nebraska.
Douglas County Health Department Director Adi Pour emphasized that his case is only probable. A specimen will be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to determine whether the man has the same type of swine flu that’s suspected of sickening people in more than a dozen countries.
Spokeswoman Marla Augustine of the Department of Health and Human Services said the test results could be ready within 48 hours.
If the specimen turns out to be swine flu, it would be reported as a California case because the CDC counts cases of infectious disease by residence.
Nationwide, 93 cases have been confirmed in New York, California, Texas, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Arizona and Nevada, according to the CDC and states.
A nearly 2-year-old Mexican boy who died in Houston on Monday was the first confirmed U.S. death from swine flu.
Symptoms of the flu-like illness include a fever of more than 100 degrees, body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.
State and county health officials are working together to keep on top of possible cases, but Pour said government can’t handle the job entirely.
“We need everybody’s help. … Each individual has a responsibility,” she said.
She advised commonsense precautions such as frequent hand washing, covering coughs and staying home at the earliest signs of illness.
Only those seriously ill should see a doctor, she added. Those who plan to seek treatment should call ahead, if possible.
“I would be very surprised if this will be the last case,” Pour said when asked about the prospects of more cases.
State health officials say they don’t want to see the strain on medical providers escalate.
“We want to keep the health-care system up and afloat,” said Dr. Joann Schaefer, the state’s chief medical officer. “We don’t want it to crash.”
Schaefer, like federal officials, said the situation is dynamic and that people need to be aware of health officials’ latest recommendations, which could change over time.
“Viruses are tricky and disease spread is tricky,” Schaefer said. “And when you have a whole country and a whole world actually watching a virus as it’s evolving in front of us, it’s important to stay tuned.”
The California man with the probable case had close contact with fewer than 10 people—all who have voluntarily isolated themselves and are taking anti-viral medication as a precaution. None has shown signs of illness, Pour said.
Health officials also say it’s unlikely he exposed more people to the illness while flying last Thursday from San Diego to Omaha. They say typically someone is contagious about 24 hours before symptoms show, and it wasn’t until Saturday that he got sick.
The man remains in Omaha, although Pour would not say where.
Five other samples the state was testing Tuesday were negative for the swine flu, Augustine said. But, she said, there were eight new samples undergoing tests at the state’s lab in Omaha on Wednesday to determine whether they were cases of this season’s influenza or the variety suspected of killing more than 150 people in Mexico. Those test results are expected to be available Thursday.
Nebraska health officials have asked doctors to be on alert for possible cases of the swine flu.
Monday was the first business day since the alert was issued, and it may take a few days for doctors to send samples.
Flu deaths are nothing new in the United States or elsewhere. The CDC estimates that about 36,000 people died of flu-related causes each year, on average, during the 1990s in the United States.
Standard anti-flu drugs can treat the illness. But the world has no vaccine that prevents this new strain, a mix of pig, human and bird viruses to which people presumably have little natural immunity.
Nebraska officials are tracking the state’s supply of anti-flu drugs, which are kept in state and federal stockpiles, as well as hospitals and pharmacies.
Chief medical officer Schaefer said she’s comfortable with the state’s supply.
———
On the Net:
Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services:
Douglas County Health Department:
