By: Fred Tasker
Source: Miami Herald
Twenty possible but unconfirmed swine flu cases have been identified in Miami-Dade County, and an undetermined number in Broward, health officials said Wednesday. But it could be several days before the test results come back to confirm them.
According to Dr. Vincent Conte, chief epidemiologist with Miami-Dade Health Department, the cases are considered ”suspect” because the patients have flu symptoms and have traveled to Mexico or other areas where the swine flu has been identified.
”If they have fever and respiratory symptoms and they’ve traveled, they meet the definition [for testing],” Conte said.
The virus ”must be taken seriously because of its ability to spread to every country in the world,” WHO director-general Dr. Margaret Chan said at a news conference. Phase 5 is considered a situation in which the likelihood of a pandemic ”is very high or inevitable,” said Dr. Keiji Fukuda, assistant director-general.
For updates on swine flu or the H1N1 virus visit World Health Organization.
