NEWS RELEASE

FOR INFORMATION CONTACT:

Caroline Calderone Baisley, MPH, RS Tom Mahoney, MS

Director of Health Public Information Officer

Tel [203] 622-7836 Tel [203] 622-6460

May 28, 2009

UPDATE ON H1N1 INFLUENZA

16 New Cases

Today the State of Connecticut announced that Greenwich has 16 new confirmed cases of H1N1 (swine flu). A total of 32 confirmed cases have now been identified among Greenwich residents. Fifteen of the new cases involve school age children from Western Middle School. All of the students have recovered or are recovering. None required hospitalization. Director of Health Caroline Baisley said, “We anticipated there would be additional cases of H1N1 since it had been established that the virus was circulating in the community.” The Department of Health expects there will be additional cases of H1N1 in Greenwich as the virus remains at elevated levels in the northeast United States.

Like other flu viruses, novel H1N1 flu spreads from an infected person to others primarily from coughing or sneezing. Sometimes people become infected by touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching their eyes, nose or mouth. Because people with novel H1N1 are thought to be infectious from one day before showing symptoms up to seven days after becoming ill, anyone who experiences influenza-like-illness (ILI) should:

ü Stay home and not attend school or work for a minimum of 7 days even if symptoms resolve sooner

ü Stay home from school or work until at least 24 hours after all symptoms have resolved

Symptoms of Influenza-like illness

Fever (100°F or 37.7°C) with cough or sore throat

Other symptoms may include – headache, runny or stuffy nose,

body aches or chills, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea

ü Residents are reminded to utilize stringent infection control measures to reduce the spread of influenza, including but not limited to:

Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue or the crook of your elbow

Wash your hands often with soap and water; use alcohol based hand sanitizer if water is not available

Try not to touch your mouth, nose or eyes

Avoid close contact with people who are sick

Stay home from school, work and other group activities if you are sick

For more information on H1N1 (swine flu):

• Greenwich Website: www.greewichct.org
• Connecticut Flu Watch: www.ct.gov/ctfluwatch/swineflu
• Connecticut Department of Public Health: www.ct.gov/dph