Man in his 70s infected with Cape Girardeau County's first confirmed swine flu case

A man in his 70s has Cape Girardeau County's first confirmed case of the swine flu.

According to Charlotte Craig, a registered nurse and executive director of Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center, the unidentified man is hospitalized.

"The individual is doing fine," she said. "He is a normal, good ol' Southeast Missouri person who has had no exotic travel or other exposure that they know of."

She said no more details about his condition will be released at this time.

"I doubt this person is the only case in town," she said. "It's the only one we know about."

H1N1, a new influenza virus discovered this year, is a mixture of four flu strains, two from pigs, one from birds and one from humans. H1N1 is nicknamed swine flu because it started in pigs but moved to humans. In April the virus sickened scores of people in Mexico and quickly leapt to the United States where, as of Wednesday, at least 8,975 cases were confirmed and 15 had died. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officials estimate as many as 100,000 Americans have been infected. So far in Missouri, 36 cases have been confirmed, with one death. In Illinois, 1,002 have been confirmed and two have died.

Most of those who died from the new flu had other medical problems, according to Southeast Missouri Hospital spokesman Mark Bliss.

Cape Girardeau is the first Southeast Missouri county to have a confirmed swine flu case.

"It wasn't unexpected," Craig said. "Knowing it has been confirmed in St. Louis and St. Charles counties, it would be unintelligent to think Cape Girardeau would be immune. We knew we were seeing a little bit of increasing flu activity from doctors' offices."

National to local health agencies have repeated that good hygiene is key to limiting any virus that spreads with coughs and sneezes.

Debbie Pleimling, executive director for Stoddard County Public Health Center, said she learned about Cape Girardeau County's case Friday morning. She said sick people should stay home and see a doctor if the illness lasts more than a day or two.

Craig said the county's infectious disease task force, formed in November 2005, started meeting "every two to three days" after April's declaration of a health emergency by the CDC, prompted by the swine flu's rapid spread.

"Last week, we decided things were quite settled and we weren't going to meet unless there was a situation and I don't think [this one case] is a trigger for that," she said.

The swine flu's late arrival has extended flu season, which typically starts in September or October and ends in late April or early May.

"The fact that this flu was mild and not serious is a blessing. It put our plans in effect," Craig said. "We wish the normal influenza season got this much attention."