Georgia Latest State to Confirm Swine Flu Victim, 30-Year Old Female Recently Returned from Cancun, Mexico

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed a case of swine flu today at West Georgia Medical System Hospital in LaGrange. I have been on pins and needles wondering when it would come to my neck of the woods. Well, it has arrived. A 30-year old female, who is from Kentucky but visiting relatives in LaGrange, returned from a trip to Cancun, Mexico on April 21. She has been hospitalized in LaGrange since April 26.

Channel 2 Action News reporter Jeff Dore interviewed Jerry Fulks, CEO of West Georgia Medical System Hospital, live on Action News at Noon and Fulks said the patient was put into isolation on April 26 and was still there Thursday.

"The staff that works with her are using masks, gowns and other protection devices," said Fulks. He said the hospital is not under quarantine. "Our hospital is open; there has been no lockdown," Fulks said. "We continue to serve the needs of our patients." Fulks said the patient's family in LaGrange has been checked and tested negative for swine flu. Source: WSBTV

The CDC lists cases of swine flu in at least 11 other states including Arizona, California, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, and Texas. Meanwhile in Alabama, officials shut down schools for about 31,000 students in Madison County because of two probable cases of swine flu. We are all bracing for more cases in the state and have to stress that people need to exercise proper hygiene -- wash your hands, cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze.