No "official" reported cases of H1N1 in Genesee County

I know a couple of people who have been pretty sick recently, and you probably do, too. The symptoms sound a lot like flu, and according Randy Garney, interim health director for Genesee County, if you have the flu this time of year, there's about a 90-percent chance it's H1N1, or "swine flu."

But, according to Garney, there have been no official cases of H1N1 reported recently in Genesee County.

Suspected flu cases are only tested, Garney said, if the sick person shows up at the hospital. 

We have a call into UMMC to see if they've been dealing with any suspected H1N1 cases and are waiting for a call back.

Garney said H1N1 is widespread throughout the Southeast, according to the National Center for Disease Control.

"At this point (outside of flu season) widespread activity is unheard of," Garney said. "To call it widespread is not normal at all."

As usual, Garney warned that people who are sick need to stay home in "social isolation" to avoid spreading the virus.

If you have a fever of 100 degrees, you probably have the flu. You should wait at least 24 hours after the fever has abated (not counting taking medications to reduce the fever) before mixing in public.

He called the virus a mild form of the flu.

"I use mild very gently because the people I’ve talked to, the epidemiologists I’ve talked to, (say) it may be mild, but you’re going to be very sick," Garney said.  "You’re going to be very achy, you’re going to be in bed, but you’re going to recover with no ramifications."

The New York Department of Health recommends: