Georgia now has 25 confirmed cases of novel influenza A H1N1 infection, due in part to the state's ability to do its own confirmatory testing and turn probable cases into confirmed cases, S. Elizabeth Ford, acting director of the Georgia Division of Public Health, said Friday in a news release.
None of the cases is from the Augusta area, but health officials have stressed that they believe the virus and seasonal flu are circulating throughout the state. The largest number of cases -- 15 -- are from Henry County, where the state was investigating cases related to Eagles Landing Christian Academy. The rest are all in the metro Atlanta region, although five were tested out of state. None of the Georgia cases have been hospitalized and most have already recovered, the division said.
Rather than rely on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for confirmatory testing, the CDC distributed test kits for the new virus to state public health labs, and after certifying the first five positive tests each state did, allows the states to do their own confirmatory testing.
Georgia is monitoring the new virus, as it does the seasonal flu virus, through a network of 79 sentinel physicians and clinics. The percentage of patients last week who reported to those offices with flulike illnesses was 5.03 percent, about five times what was seen at this time last year, according to State Influenza Surveillance Coordinator Ariane Reeves.
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