Solomon Ortiz, Jr.

April 27, 2009

~ Confirmed Cases Identified in Texas ~

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CORPUS CHRISTI -- Rep. Solomon Ortiz, Jr. (D-Corpus Christi) today advised Corpus Christi residents to take proactive health measures to prevent the spread of swine flu. State and local health officials are monitoring the swine flu outbreak, which has already killed more than 100 people in Mexico.

"My office has been in close contact with local and state health and emergency management officials and we are proactively monitoring the developments regarding swine flu," Ortiz said. "I urge residents to take extra precautions to guard their health and prevent the spread of this disease."

Swine flu is a combination of flu strains and is spread from person to person. Symptoms are similar to the regular flu, and include fever, fatigue, and lack of appetite, coughing, runny nose, sort throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Rep. Ortiz recommends that residents use standard health precautions such as washing hands thoroughly and often, use tissues when sneezing and avoiding contact with others when feeling ill.

"Use common sense, practice good hygiene, and take standard health precautions," Ortiz said.

Health officials have declared a public emergency regarding swine flu following the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) identification of at least 20 cases of Swine Flu in the United States, including three cases in Texas. The Governor's Office has requested the CDC provide an additional 850,000 doses of antiviral medication that could aid if the outbreak worsens. For more information on action the state is taking, click here.

People exhibiting flu-like symptoms should stay home from work or school, limit contact with others and see their doctor immediately. The Department of State Health Services has released a toll free number for people to call if they have any questions. The number is (888) 777-5320.

There are currently 3 confirmed cases of swine flu in Texas, all in Health Region 8 (a map of the regions is below). Additionally, there are suspected cases in Region 1, Region 6, and Region 11. Region 11 includes Corpus Christi, but the suspected cases are all in Cameron County (3 possible cases). All reported cases in Texas are considered mild. Officials are not seeing any increased statewide demand for hospital services at this point.

It is believed that all the Mexican states that border Texas have confirmed cases of swine flu. Nineteen of the 32 Mexican states have confirmed cases.

The Corpus Christi Caller-Times reported that several suspected cases have been identified in Nueces County. The cases have not been confirmed, Ortiz stressed.

There are 41 confirmed swine flu cases nationwide, with most in New York (28) and California (7). Kansas and Ohio also have confirmed cases. There is no vaccine for the swine flu, but antivirals can help control the impact of the virus. Texas considers this a Level 2 or 3 epidemic, on a scale of 1 to 5 - similar to the hurricane scale.

For more information, call the state's swine flu center at 888-777-5320 from 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. For additional information visit www.dshs.state.tx.us/swineflu or www.cdc.gov/swineflu. The Corpus Christi-Nueces County Public Health District is also posting swine flu updates on its web site: http://www.cctexas.com/health/ .

Swine Flu Information & Map: ftp://ftp.txdps.state.tx.us/dem/sitrep/Swine%20Flu%20SITREP%202%20042709.pdf