Pottawatomie County Health Department Administrative Director Tina Johnson announced Friday that Pottawatomie County has its first confirmed case of swine flu.
Johnson said the patient is a male child who didn’t require hospitalization.
As a matter of privacy and state protocol, the exact location of the boy’s residence wasn’t revealed by Johnson.
“Pottawatomie County residents should not be alarmed,” she said. “We have been monitoring this case to limit exposure to others while confirmatory tests were pending.”
Johnson said the county health department is interviewing individuals who may have come into contact with the boy to see if any further testing is needed.
As of June 4 — the latest numbers available from the state health department — Oklahoma had 98 confirmed cases of swine flu, not including the Pottawatomie County infection confirmed on Friday.
Seminole County had the first confirmed case in the Tri-County area on May 8 and Lincoln County still hasn’t had any swine flu infections.
Oklahoma County has the largest number of infected individuals with 29. There have been no reported deaths associated with swine flu in Oklahoma.
Nationwide, there are 13,217 confirmed cases of swine flu and there have been 27 deaths associated with the new strain of flu.
Wisconsin has 2,217 cases of swine flu, the most of any state. Texas has 1,670 cases and Illinois has 1,357. No other state has more than 1,000 cases.
New York has 858 confirmed cases but eight deaths associated with swine flu, the most of any state.
Oklahoma State Department of Health officials recently told the News-Star that despite the lessening media attention - and the fact that the new strain of influenza is considered mild - swine flu continues to spread at a consistent pace and hasn’t eased up or plateaued.
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Andrew Knittle may be reached at 214-3926.
