The Volusia County Health Department sent out two messages through the school district's parent telephone system today alerting the public about the swine flu outbreak elewhere in the country and encoraging hand washing and covering mouths while coughing.
The Volusia County Web site makrs no specific menion locally of efforts to educate the public, but a statewide health advisdory was posted and reads as follows:
TALLAHASSEE – The Florida Department of Health is actively monitoring the current swine influenza situation in California, Texas and Mexico. Currently, there are no known human cases in Florida. The Florida Department of Health is proactively responding to this event by enhancing surveillance and monitoring efforts for influenza across the state. The Florida Department of Health, in partnership with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has the capability needed to detect novel influenza viruses.
Since influenza season is winding down, any influenza occurring now will be carefully assessed to see if it is due to the new strain.
Some good hygiene tips to adhere to are:
* Practice good respiratory etiquette by covering your cough
* Frequent hand washing can lessen the spread of respiratory illness
* Stay home if you are sick
For more information please visit the CDC’s Web site at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/swine/index.htm or call 1-800-CDC-INFO.
According to CNN, there are 40 confirmed cases in the United States confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control. Health officials in California confirmed four additional cases and three more in Texas, but those were not immediately added to the CDC's total, CNN reported.
The World Health Organization confirmed 26 cases in Mexico, six in Canada, and one in Spain and has described the outbreak as a potential pandemic.