Chicago Health Officials Flooded with Swine Flu Calls
Thursday, Jul 30, 2009 | Updated 1:44 PM CST
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Fears over swine flu are growing, but officials are urging calm.
Chicago's Public Health Department is being deluged with reports of possible swine flu cases.
Chief Medical Officer Dr. Susan Gerber is calling it "an outbreak of awareness."
Reports come into the department every 15 minutes, and staffers there are working overtime to check them out.
Most calls likely are not swine flu, and some aren't even ordinary flu, Gerber said. There isn't a surge in people with flu-like symptoms, but her department is getting more reports because of swine flu fears, she said.
Local health agencies are working with Illinois health officials to evaluate possible cases.
The Illinois Department of Public Health is testing suspect cases, but none has tested positive. Any cases that do test positive locally would be considered probable swine flu until they could be confirmed by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmation, a state health spokeswoman said.
Copyright Associated Press
Posted Thursday, Jul 30, 2009 - 1:44 PM CST
