Saturday, 4 July 2009

The Cayman Islands’ H1N1 count is up to 22 after CAREC confirmed eight more cases this past week.

Acting Medical Officer of Health Dr. Anna Matthews said that although three of the latest confirmed cases had a travel history to an H1N1 infected community, the latest figures confirm that Cayman has sustained local transmission.

“We should expect to see the numbers continue to climb,” she said. “However, all the cases so far have been mild to moderate and our strategy and message remain the same. We will continue to keep track of the H1N1 prevalence, and we ask people who are sick to stay at home and minimize contact with other people as far as possible.”

Public Health’s robust surveillance and testing programme has also identified the presence of other seasonal flu strains, including Influenza B and C strains.

“Our proximity to the US and the fact that most of our residents are frequent travelers makes the presence of H1N1 in our country inevitable. We continue to monitor the H1N1 flu pandemic closely and will adjust our health response to fit any changes in the nature of this flu virus,” Dr. Matthews said.