Missouri health officials have confirmed the first probable case of swine flu in the state.
Little is being released about the victim, other than the person is from Platte County. Tests done by a local doctor indicated the patient likely suffered from the H1N1 virus. Specimens were sent to the state health lab which Wednesday arrived at the same conclusion.
Gov. Nixon says his administration is distributing anti-viral medications to the affected area and making sure that the case is properly handled. The governor declined to release any information about the patient or the person’s condition.
The sample has been sent to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to make a final confirmation. It has been taking the CDC a couple of days to run tests.
Nixon, at a news conference in his Capitol office, said that the discovery of the first case of swine flu in Missouri is not a cause for alarm, but for concern. He said state officials as well as local health officials are following their plan to deal with flu outbreaks. Nixon said the state had plenty of medication and is concentrating on getting it out quickly to any area that might be affected.
Download/listen Gov. Nixon swine flu announcement (7 min mp3)