Four Corners Health District has first confirmed case of H1N1

The first case of the Novel H1N1 virus has been identified in the Four Corners Health District.  The Butler County resident in his 70’s is currently hospitalized and is reported to have other medical conditions.  

“We have anticipated that there could be one or more cases of Novel H1N1 virus seen in our District”, said Vicki L. Duey, Executive Director of the Four Corners Health Department.  “Despite the overall downward trend of cases across Nebraska and throughout the US, we do not believe we have seen the end of this outbreak.” 
Fortunately the vast majority of the cases of the new virus are mild.  Seventy- four percent (74%) of the hospitalized patients across the nation have had underlying chronic medical conditions. 

Novel H1N1 is spread in the same way as the seasonal flu.  Symptoms include fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue.  If your symptoms are moderate to severe you should contact your medical provider.

Duey said that she is frequently asked why this apparently mild flu is being monitored.  “It is the job of Public Health to monitor potential threats to the health of our community” said Duey.  “Since it is a new form of influenza, we need to maintain surveillance to see how it will affect the population.  We know that the average age of those confirmed to have the illness is much younger than those who generally are affected by the seasonal flu.  We don’t know how it will evolve in the future. There is still much to learn about the virus.”