The news day just wouldn’t be complete unless there was at least one mention of swine flu. The heavily reported virus has sent swarms of people to doctors’ offices and emergency room for testing at the first sign of sniffles.
The hysteria behind swine flu seems warranted, especially considering the number of cases in the state jumped from 5 to 23 in just days. Miami-Dade recently confirmed its first two cases (a 13-year-old girl and a 47-year-old man) and three more suspect cases are awaiting test results.
But with the virus proving to be less severe than expected, the Miami Herald reports the county health department is reducing testing to patients admitted to the hospital for symptoms of flu and other “individuals of epidemiological interest,” meaning residents of nursing homes, children, college students and healthcare workers.
Tests were previously run on anyone with flu-like symptoms or anyone who had traveled to Mexico.
''Our labs have already tested 1,000 samples from all age groups; this is enough information for the Florida Department of Health to characterize the epidemic in Miami,'' Dr. Fermin Leguen, chief epidemiologist for the department, told the Herald.
While the strain of the virus seems less threatening than originally thought, officials still urge Floridians to wash hands thoroughly and frequently, to cough into their elbows rather than hands and to remain home if you or your child is sick.
