Swine Flu Update: 19 Suspect Cases Of Swine Flu In El Paso County
EL PASO, Texas — The El Paso Dept. of Public Health identified 11 more suspect cases of H1N1 flu in El Paso County on Friday, to bring the total number of suspect cases to 19. Eight suspect caseswere identified Thursday.
There are still no confirmed cases, Tammy Fonce-Olivas, a health department spokeswoman, said. No other information on the suspect cases was released.
The laboratory samples are being forwarded to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for further testing, and the results are expected within five days.
A hotline for information on theH1N1 flu in El Paso County has been set up in English and Spanish. Call (915) 577-0970 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
After hours the public may call (888) 777-5320, an information service onH1N1 flu provided by the Texas Department of State Health Services.
The public may also call 2-1-1 around the clock.
Local healthcare providers may call (877) 623-6274 for more information about H1N1 Flu.
The Department of Public Health recommends that citizens avoid overwhelming emergency rooms or doctors’ offices if under usual circumstances they wouldn’t seek medical care for their illness since this could delay service for those who are seriously ill.
For more resources onH1N1 flu, go to the ABC-7 Swine Flu page.
EL PASO COUNTY — County officials said they are “concerned” but there is no need for panic in light of suspected cases of H1N1 flu in El Paso County.
“The individuals who should be dealing with this and communicating are dealing with this and are working very efficiently,” County Judge Anthony Cobos said.
He said those individuals included local mayors, school superintendents and first responders.
He said that the county is at a Level 3 threat level, which merits increased preparedness and is just one level above normal alertness. Level 1 is the most serious threat level and would activate a maximum emergency response.
EL PASO COUNTY — All county departments and officials are encouraged to postpone unofficial social gatherings pending recommendations from public health officials.
A May 5th open house intended to inform residents about county services and a county employees appreciation picnic have been postponed until further notice, county officials said.
El Paso ISD has canceled the Astronomy Day event that had been scheduled for Saturday at Guerrero Elementary School.
Two events at the Mexican Consulate have been suspended due to Mexican federal guidelines shutting down nonessential government services for five days. “La Noche Literaria” and the “147 Aniversario de la Batalla de Puebla”, scheduled forFriday andTuesday, will be rescheduled at a later date.
The City of El Paso Parks and Recreation Department will continue to have all regularly scheduled sports events go as scheduled.
NEW MEXICO — New Mexico now has nine probable cases of H1N1 flu, state Department of Health officials said. None have been confirmed.
The following are the breakdown of cases by county:
Valencia County : 18-year-old male – recovering, 15-year-old female*
Santa Fe County : 1-year-old male – recovering
Socorro County : 14-year-old female – recovering, 15-year-old male – recovering
* Eddy County : 17-year-old female, 22-year-old female
* Hidalgo County : 17-year-old male
* Bernalillo County : 27-year-old male
* = New as of May 1 – Conditions not available on any of the new cases
Officials said they have tested 97 of 120 samples that have been received.
Two of the probable cases are of students at schools in Socorro, New Mexico. Both became sick Sunday and have not attended school since then. The schools the two attended in Socorro are not being closed.
For general questions about swine flu, call the state’s Swine Influenza Hotline at 1-866-850-5893. People who have symptoms may call the Nurse Advice New Mexico at 1-877-725-2552. The department also set up a specific hotline for callers who speak Spanish: 1-800-784-0394.
EL PASO — Ysleta ISD officials said they are taking the following measures in response to the swine flu outbreak:
District officials are advising that if any staff or students are ill and have flu-like symptoms, they need to be sent home immediately. If the symptoms are severe, they should see a health-care professional and not return to work or school until they have a release. All campuses and district offices will be thoroughly cleansed and sanitized starting Friday, May 1 and continuing throughout the weekend. Hand sanitizing dispensers have been ordered for all campuses and offices throughout the district. They will be installed by early next week. This will make the hand sanitizer readily available for all students and staff throughout the work and school day. Regarding field trips and travel, effective Saturday:
o All field trips are postponed until further notice.
o All out-of-town travel that uses district transportation is postponed until further notice.
o Any out-of-town travel pre-paid by parents and/or students remains as scheduled.
o Out-of-town staff travel may remain as scheduled at the person’s discretion.
All non-UIL after-school activities remain as scheduled.
TEXAS —
CONFIRMED CASES: 28
– Guadalupe County: 9
– Dallas County: 6
– Tarrant County: 5
– Starr County: 2
– Cameron County: 1
– Comal County: 1
– Denton County: 1
– Fort Bend County: 1
– Harris County: 1
SCHOOL CLOSURES:
– Campuses closed: About 300.
– Students affected: About 172,000
(The total number of confirmed cases includes a Mexico City boy who died in Houston but isn’t in the county-by-county breakdown.)
LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces and Dona Ana County leaders said state and local officials are working together and are prepared if there is a swine flu outbreak in Dona Ana County.
They said they will have up-to-date information for the public and they are in constant communication with the New Mexico Department of Health.
A Las Cruces Public Schools spokeswoman said all schools are educating the students and their families on how to avoid getting sick.
Once again, they are stressing washing hands, coughing in a tissue and avoiding shaking hands.
Officials strongly recommend that parents keep their children in school unless they are sick.
Dona Ana County Manager Brian Haines said this is a time for preparation, not panic.
LAS CRUCES — Las Cruces athletic fields, recreation programs and facilities, including student afterschool activities, are operating as usual, Las Cruces city officials said.
JUAREZ — Juarez has no confirmed cases of swine flu, Juarez health officials told ABC-7 on Thursday. Calls placed on Friday were not returned.
MEXICO CITY (AP)- A top Mexican medical officer accused the World Health Organization of responding too slowly to early signs of the swine flu scare. The world agency said it was Mexico that failed to respond to its request to alert other nations to the first hints of the outbreak.
The United States is buying 13 million courses of anti-flu drugs to replenish its stockpile and sending 400,000 courses to Mexico, which said earlier that it had a stockpile of 1 million courses. U.S. health officials say a swine flu vaccine could not be ready until fall at the earliest.
The Red Cross says it is readying an army of 60 million volunteers who could be deployed around the world to help slow the virus’ spread.
Hong Kong confirmed a case of swine flu, Asia’s first, and authorities quarantined about 300 people at the hotel where the man, a 25-year-old Mexican tourist, stayed. Besides Mexico and the U.S., cases have also been confirmed in six European nations, Canada, New Zealand and Israel.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) – A news report says South Korea has its first confirmed case of swine flu.
Yonhap news agency reported Saturday that final tests confirmed a 51-year-old woman has the disease after recently returning from a trip to Mexico.
