Updated Florida Swine Flu Cases

More Confirmed Cases As Lab Backlog Pared Down

LABELLE, FL. -- All four Department of Health laboratories have received testing supplies from the Centers for Disease Control and now can test samples to confirm H1N1 Swine Flu. This testing capability allows the Department to expedite results as we no  longer need to send probable cases to CDC laboratories.

Florida has 23 confirmed cases in the following counties:  one in Alachua, Clay,  Indian River, Okechobee, Orange, Seminole, and Pinellas; two in Dade, three in Lee , five in  Broward, and six in Hillsborough. The nearest cases to Hendry and Glades county are in Okeechobee and Broward county.

The increase in confirmed cases is primarily due to the cleaning of a CDC testing backlog of samples from probable cases previously submitted.

New confirmed cases are:   

Hillsborough:  an 18 year-old male, a 21 year-old male, a 22 year-old male, a 19 year-old female, a 12 year-old male, and a 24 year-old female; Clay:  a 15 year-old female; Okeechobee:  a 27 year-old female; Indian River:  a 15 year-old male; Alachua:  a 19 year-old female; Seminole:  an 18 year-old male; Pinellas:  a 25 year-old male; Dade:  a 13 year-old female; a 47 year-old male; Broward: an 11 year-old female, a 22 year-old female, a 3 year-old female, a 26 year-old female

We have 18 probables in the following counties:  Manatee, Okaloosa, Palm Beach,  Lake, Duval, Collier, Pinellas, and Marion have one probable case each.   Lee and Sarasota has two.  Broward and Dade has three. 

CDC no longer recommends that communities with a laboratory confirmed case of influenza A H1N1 consider adopting school dismissal or childcare closure measures.

 A public health emergency was declared by the State Surgeon General.

 A toll free information line has been established to address an increasing number of calls from the public requesting Swine    Flu information. The number is 1-800-342-3557 and it is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.