Crist confirms 2 FL swine flu cases in Broward, Lee
A Broward County teen and a boy from Lee County are the first two confirmed victims of swine flu in Florida, according to Gov. Charlie Crist.
The Broward victim is a 17-year-old female student of Hallandale High School and the boy is a Spring Creek Elementary School student.
Crist, who has assured the public the state is ready to manage an outbreak, declared a public health emergency Friday and directed state Surgeon General Ana Viamonte Ros to help manage the emerging crisis. He said little else.Dr. Viamonte Ros said the two cases are likely not isolated and that more will soon be reported.
"We cannot predict the course of this outbreak, how it will affect our state. We do expect to see more cases in the coming days and weeks,'' she said.
Viamonte Ros urged people to wash their hands, avoid coughing in their hands and to stay home if they feel sick. She said people shouldn't take anti-viral drugs unless prescribed them by a physician, and said physicians shouldn't prescribe them unless a person is sick. She said the state has numerous monitoring stations and is in contact with physicians and pharmacies to help alert the state to any potential problems.
Viamonte Ros said the state will pull through, but she left no doubt about the serious challenge the state faces.
"As we have seen with many other incidents in Florida -- whether they be anthrax, floods, wildfires or hurricanes --Floridians are resilient people and Florida has a very resilient response system,'' she said.
Sources:
http://miamiherald.typepad.com/naked...oward-lee.html