April 30, 2009

Cortland Swine Flu Case Is ‘Probable’; Skorton Warns Against Travel

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Following Gannett’s University-wide e-mail on Tuesday informing the Cornell community of the outbreak of swine flu, President Skorton “strongly advised” students not to travel to Mexico in an e-mail yesterday.
According to Skorton, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention placed Mexico on their “health warning list.” On Sunday, U.S. health officials declared the outbreak of this new strain of swine flu — a respiratory disease found in pigs — a national health emergency. The World Health Organization has raised the pandemic alert level to Stage 5, just short of a pandemic, according to WBNG News.
In Cortland County, a suspected case of the flu has changed status from “suspect” to “probable,” according to WBNG. As a result, health officials in Cortland are taking special precautions to ensure that the student’s case of the flu doesn’t spread. As of yesterday, there are 91 confirmed cases in the U.S., 51 of which are in New York, according to The New York Times.
“We’re dealing with a rapidly evolving situation, so we have to monitor what’s happening internationally, nationally, in the New York State and locally, because we are an international community,” Sharon Dittman, associate director of community relations at Gannett Health Services, told The Sun on Tuesday.