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Epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said Monday that suspected or confirmed swine flu cases should be treated with oseltamivir or zanamivir and that other antiviral drugs have not been effective.
In an interim guidance for physicians, CDC officials noted that the 64 confirmed cases in the United States (as of 11:00 AM ET on April 28, 2009) all presented with uncomplicated flu-like symptoms and so far have not been severe, unlike cases in Mexico.
There have been no confirmed cases in Illinois to date. The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) is working with the CDC to monitor the outbreak. Instructions for submitting a respiratory virus sample and the laboratory test requisition form for health care providers can be found on the IDPH website.
For reporting and tracking, the CDC also recommended that physicians send swab samples to their state health department for definitive testing.
The virus is believed to be transmitted by close person-to-person contact, much like the seasonal influenza outbreaks, CDC officials said. Because of the risks for possible contagion of patients in the ED, emergency physicians are asked to review the CDC’s guidance about infection control.
Because of the rapidly evolving nature of the outbreak, emergency physicians are asked to check the CDC site regularly for updates (www.cdc.gov/swineflu/) as more information develops.
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