Many of you have heard about the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus strain outbreak that has been a problem in Mexico City and scattered around the US and the world. We have had 5 confirmed cases here in San Diego and Imperial Counties as of today. The ages of the cases are: 7, 10, 20 and 54. A private school in La Mesa has been closed due to the latest case of a 20-year-old confirmed today. The school is Christ the Corner Stone Academy and there are other suspected cases at that school.

Please see the link below for the latest information and facts about the signs and symptoms of the swine flu from the CDC. For now we are recommending that if your child has symptoms of the flu that include sudden onset of fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue and looking and acting sick they should be seen at our office. FACTS is a way to remember the classic symptoms: Fever, Aches, Cough and Chills, Tired, Sudden onset. Some people report vomiting and diarrhea with the illness.

When you call to book an appointment, if you or your child has had a known contact to someone with the swine flu or you feel that your child clearly has symptoms of the flu, please let our staff know this! We will book the appointment as a "car visit" and your child will stay in the car and the provider will come to your car to see the child so we do not potentially infect others. We can do a rapid flu test in the office that may help us make a preliminary diagnosis and then we would need to send another test to the County Health Department to confirm the diagnosis.

Please note that if your child did receive the flu vaccine this season, this is not considered protective for the swine flu virus. There is a prescription antiviral medication that when started within 48 hours of symptoms, may be helpful to reduce the severity of the disease.

Persons with swine flu virus infection should be considered potentially contagious for up to 7 days following illness onset. Persons who continue to be ill longer than 7 days after illness onset should be considered potentially contagious until symptoms have resolved. Children, especially younger children, might potentially be contagious for longer periods. The duration of infectiousness might vary. Non-hospitalized ill persons who are a confirmed or suspected case of swine flu virus infection are recommended to stay at home (voluntary isolation) for at least the first 7 days after illness onset except to seek medical care. Remember that for typical viral illnesses we recommend keeping children at home for at least 24 hours after the fever resolves.

Other resources in San Diego for information can be found at the www.211sandiego.com website and the San Diego County Human Health Services website where you can find up-to-the-minute information and a video update from Dr. Wilma Wooten.