Swine Flu Hits Florida, School Closes
Health officials report the first case of swine flu appears to have happened in Clay County, according to a report. A probable case was identified Sunday and is just one of 15 in Florida that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are investigating.
As a result, an elementary school in Clay County, Oakleaf School K-through-eighth grade, will be closed for a few days, mostly as a precaution while the school cleans the classroom and the bus the student rode on. 1,650 students will be affected. The ill student is recovering.
Two swine flu cases are confirmed in Lee and Broward counties in South Florida, but the other probable cases are found in Orange, Indian River, Okeechobee, Miami-Dade, Alachua, Seminole and Palm Beach counties. Hillsborough County has six probable cases.
One of the confirmed cases struck a girl visiting the Orlando area from Mexico. She is the third confirmed case in the state and is recovering. The other case was an 11-year-old boy from Lee County and a 17-year-old girl from Broward County.
We are glad to report that the cases do not appear to be serious. The Pinellas county patient was not even hospitalized. Everyone with suspected cases in the state range in age from 7 to 75 and four cases are female, five male.
People can find out more by calling the state at 1-800-342-3557. We are very fortunate that this version of the flu does not seem to carry with it a death toll. So far in the U.S., one two –year-old boy, who had recently come to the U.S. from Mexico, died in a hospital in the states.
As personal injury attorneys in Florida, we would like to remind the everyone that whenever you are in public, be sure to wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with warn or hot water. That’s a very good habit to get into. Stay well everyone!!
