7 more 'probable' H1N1 flu cases, most in metro
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The Minnesota Department of Health announced late Friday that seven more probable cases of H1N1 flu may have been detected in the state.
Three of the sick are in Hennepin County, with one each in Wright, Polk, Dakota and Scott counties.
None of the new seven cases required hospitalization and all were at home expected to make a full recovery, the Health Department said.
The department forwarded lab samples to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to be tested.
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Earlier Friday, the department announced another probable case in an adult in Isanti County, for a total of eight probable cases of H1N1 flu in the state.
So far only one case has been confirmed, in a person at Rocori Middle School in Cold Spring.
"The widespread nature of the cases implies that the novel virus appears to be acting like seasonal influenza," the department said.
As of Friday night, the department had tested 229 samples, with more than 110 waiting for tests.
Minnesota's first case of H1N1 flu turned up earlier this week at Rocori Middle School in Cold Spring, and that school and the nearby St. Boniface School have been shut down until next week.
More than 150 cases of H1N1 flu have been confirmed around the United States.
The state's health lab doesn't have tests that can make the final determination that a sample is Type A H1N1, but the CDC was sending the specific tests to public health labs around the country to make it possible for states to do it themselves. Those were expected to arrive in Minnesota in the next several days.
Minnesota health officials have recommended commonsense steps to protect against H1N1 flu transmission, including frequent hand-washing, covering coughs and sneezes, avoiding sick people and staying at home if sick.
Minnesota has some 400,000 doses of antiviral drugs, and more were being sent from the federal government to position at regional hospitals around the state.
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On the Net: Minnesota Department of Health: http://www.health.state.mn.us
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
