Broward Girl Feeling Fine After Battle With Swine Flu

The 17-year-old girl and first confirmed swine flu case in Florida says she’s feeling better

While her identity still remains under wraps, the 17-year-old girl who contracted swine flu, making her the first case in the Sunshine State, says she’s feeling better.

It all started with fever, headaches and vomiting. After days of feeling sick, the teen was taken to Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, where it was confirmed she had swine flu. 

The teen had taken a recent trip to Mexico in March, where she most likely caught the virus. She then went to Grad Nite at Disney World on April 17. But it wasn’t until April 23 that she started to feel the effects of swine flu.

Although she was sick for many days prior, she was not diagnosed or treated until Thursday. And her school didn’t shut down until Friday.

It’s this course of events that has angered many parents who feel the school knew about the virus long before it closed its doors. Hallandale High will remain closed until Thursday, perhaps longer. That decision will be made later this week.

While the teen tells the Miami Herald she's feeling back to her old self, there are nine other individuals in the state awaiting their prognosis from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory. The heath departments fears these cases may also be swine flu.

On Sunday, State health officials confirmed a third person in Florida has the virus. While details have not been released, we do know the latest victim is in Orange County. And officials think two more in Miami-Dade may also be sick with swine flu, although they have yet to confirm.

The state’s other confirmed case is an 11-year-old boy in Lee County, whose school, Spring Creek Elementary, has also been shut down.

To prevent the spread of swine flu, the health department is advising everyone to wash hands thoroughly and frequently and to remain home from work or school if you are sick. Schools with infected students are being advised to remain closed for 14 days.

A hotline at 1.800.342.3557 has been set up to field questions about swine flu. Officials say, by Saturday, they’d already received more than 700 calls.
 

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