Two cases of swine flu suspected in Montgomery County

By OBSERVER STAFF
Updated: 05.01.09
UTMB Montgomery County Public Health Preparedness Division has received reports of two probable cases of H1N1 (swine flu) virus in Montgomery County.

The first case is a 2-year-old Woodlands resident who went to the doctor's office on Monday. The physician took completed a rapid flu test in the office and sent an additional sample to the Houston Health Department Laboratory for further investigation. Lab personnel classified the sample as non-subtypeable, which means the sample comes from a novel strain of flu virus.

The sample must be sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, but for now non-subtypeable cases are being treated as if they are H1N1.

The child's doctor chose to treat before receiving laboratory confirmation. The patient and family members were prescribed a 5-day course of antiviral medications. According to Emily Llinas, public health preparedness director at UTMB Montgomery County, both the child and family members are healthy.

“The physician made good decisions on Monday, and now, Friday, the whole family is doing great,” Llinas said.

Another 3-year-old Montgomery County resident also came down with flu-like symptoms while visiting the Dallas area. Health officials report that the child traveled to Dallas in mid-April and became sick 10 days after arriving there. The child was hospitalized briefly but has since been treated and released.

County officials stress that influenza response activities remain the same following the report of suspected cases.

“We have a plan, and we're sticking to that plan,” said Nicky Kelly, Montgomery County deputy emergency management coordinator.

Kelly said that emergency management is facilitating daily communication among public health, medical, and school representatives as well as with elected officials.

Public health officials stated that the announcement of probable cases in Montgomery County is an important but unsurprising development.

“We knew it was only a matter of time before we had suspected or confirmed cases in Montgomery County,” Llinas said. “Fortunately, the H1N1 virus is acting just like seasonal flu, and our county healthcare providers deal with it every year .”

Health officials urge county residents to continue taking precautions like washing their hands and staying home when they are sick.

Montgomery County residents can find information about the H1N1 virus by visiting the Centers for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov/swineflu, or by calling the Department of State Health Services H1N1 hotline at 888-777-5320.