Jennifer Manley
Jennifer.Manley@state.ma.us
617-624-5006

DEVAL L. PATRICK

GOVERNOR

TIMOTHY P. MURRAY

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR

JUDYANN BIGBY, M.D.

SECRETARY

JOHN AUERBACH

COMMISSIONER

There are now a total of 6 confirmed cases in Massachusetts, and 141 confirmed cases in the United States. A line listing of all MA confirmed cases appears below.

DPH officials continue to take steps to increase surveillance of influenza-like illness in Massachusetts, working in close partnership with health care providers, hospital emergency departments, and other partners at the local, state and federal level.

“We continue to monitor the spread of swine flu in the U.S. and all over the world” said DPH Commissioner John Auerbach. “We are pleased that the cases we’ve seen thus far in Massachusetts are all expected to fully recover, however we know that influenza is a serious illness and can have significant complications.”

Massachusetts residents can protect themselves and their families by taking simple, common-sense precautions to keep from getting and spreading the flu.

These precautions include:

• wash your hands often with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand sanitizer;

• cough or sneeze into a tissue or into your elbow instead of into your hands;

• if you’re sick, stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to avoid infecting them

H1N1 (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza viruses. Outbreaks of swine flu happen regularly in pigs. People do not normally get swine flu, but human infections can and do happen. Most commonly, human cases of swine flu happen in people who are around pigs but it’s possible for swine flu viruses to spread from person to person as well. Swine flu is not transmitted by food and you cannot get swine flu by eating pork products.

For general information on swine flu and the status of the nationwide outbreak, visit www.cdc.gov/swineflu. For more information on the Massachusetts response, and how to care for someone at home who has the flu, please visit www.mass.gov/dph/swineflu.

Confirmed H1N1 Influenza (Swine Flu) As of May 1, 2009

# # #