Latest news & information

US swine flu epidemic shows signs of being over

By MIKE STOBBE, The Associated Press | Leave a Comment

ATLANTA (AP) — Is the U.S. swine flu (H1N1) epidemic over? Federal health officials won't go so far as to say that, but on Friday they reported for the fourth week in a row that no states had widespread flu activity. Read More »

Rapid spread of swine flu justified warnings

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, The Associated Press | Leave a Comment

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of cases of swine flu may have been several times higher than reported and the potential for rapid spread of the illness justified the World Health Organization’s decision to raise the global pandemic alert, a new study concludes. Read More »

NASA, cruise line got flu shots

By MIKE STOBBE, The Associated Press | Leave a Comment

ATLANTA (AP) — Last fall, as swine flu cases mounted and parents desperately sought to protect their kids, the hard-to-get vaccine was handed out in some surprising places: the Royal Caribbean cruise line, the headquarters of drug giant Merck, the Johnson Space Center and a Department of Energy office in Idaho. Read More »

Treating Swine Flu

• Antiviral drugs seem to work for swine flu when taken shortly after symptoms begin. In South Carolina, we have a small stockpile of these drugs and we’ll be getting an extra shipment from the federal government within the next few days. So we’ll be able to treat about 150,000 cases of influenza should private health care providers run low on supplies.

• To fight the spread of the flu virus:

• Wash your hands thoroughly and often.
• Cover your cough with your sleeve, not your hand.
• Stay home if you're sick.
• Stay away from people who are sick.
• Eat a healthy diet and get plenty of rest.

• It takes from 48-72 hours for symptoms to show up after a person has come in contact with the virus.
• There's no way to know how long the outbreak will last, but we expect this virus to be around for quite some time.
• There is no evidence that you can get swine flu from eating pork.
• If you start to have symptoms of the flu, call your healthcare provider or your local public health clinic for guidance.