Apr 26, 2009 4:39 pm US/Pacific
Cases Of Swine Flu Reported Across California
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Officials are testing for strains of the virus across the country in an effort to contain the disease and prevent an outbreak. (File)
CBS
No cases of swine flu have been reported in Los Angeles or Orange Counties, health officials said Sunday.
In Los Angeles County, health officials were notifying schools to practice good hygiene. "We reminded schools that now is a good time to talk about washing hands, covering one's mouth when coughing, and things like that," spokeswoman Sarah Kissell said.
To avoid the disease, experts recommend washing hands frequently. If you are sick, avoid contact with others. So far, an effective vaccine has not been developed.
Symptoms include a fever of 100 degrees or more, vomiting, coughing, a sore throat and diarrhea.
Orange County Health Care Agency spokesperson Deanne Thompson also said no one had gotten ill yet in the county.
She advised residents to seek out the
county's Web site for any questions about the swine flu.
A total of seven cases had been reported so far in California, four in San Diego County and three in Imperial County. The latest victim was diagnosed on April 4. She is a 35-year-old Imperial County woman and has since fully recovered, according to published reports.
Two other cases reported in Kansas are making scientists suspect that the outbreak is now spreading through human-to-human contact, rather than human-to-pig contact.
Three more cases have been reported in Texas.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger opened an emergency operations center, where public health officials are monitoring the progress of the virus and coordinating their response with CDC officials.
But the outbreak has been much worse in Mexico, where more than 1,300 people are believed to have been infected, and it is suspected in 81 deaths.
Mexico City has been virtually shut down in an attempt to stop the flu's spread, and many of the city's 20 million people have taken to wearing surgical masks.
No swine-flu-related deaths have been reported in the United States.
Containing the outbreak is unlikely, Dr. Anne Schuchat of the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta told the Los Angeles Times.
"Having found the virus where we have found it, we are likely to find it in many more places," she said. "It is clear that this is widespread, which is why we do not think we can contain spread of this virus."
The World Health Organization declared the outbreak a "public health emergency of international concern."
Dr. Margaret Chan, director-general of WHO, told The Los Angeles Times the flu "has pandemic potential," because it appears to be transmitted from human to human. But she noted that it was far too early to predict whether a pandemic would occur.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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