Costa Rica Now
With 7 Confirmed H1N1 Cases
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Costa Rica Now
With 7 Confirmed H1N1 Cases
The Ministerio de Salud has confirmed that
Costa Rica has seven confirmed cases of the
H1N1 virus, after receiving results of eight
samples sent to the the Centers For Disease
Control (CDC) in Atlanta. Only one case was
discarted by US health officials.
Almost two weeks after the first case of the
virus appeared in Costa Rica, health
officials have investigated 645 "suspected"
cases, most of which were discarded and
eight "probables", samples that were sent to
the CDC for confirmation.
The test results took more than a week to
get back to the ministerio de Salud, as
Costa Rica had yet to receive the kit for
testing locally and must rely on the CDC for
a confirmed result.
According to the ministra de Salud, María
Luisa Ávila, the confirmed cases involve
minors and adults, but would not give more
details, other than some are already coming
out isolation, well on the road to recovery.
Ávila explained that in all the cases, the
infected had been in Mexico or had contact
with someone having been in Mexico and the
virus did not spread beyond the original
infection and into the community.
The ministra added that Costa Rica now has
the testing kit and the person whose results
were negative is being tested again.
With the arrival of the test kit, Ávila said
that Costa Rica can now quickly confirm or
discard suspected cases and not have to rely
on results coming back from the U.S.
Dr. José Miguel Rojas, director of
Desarrollo de Servicios de Salud en la Caja
Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS) said
that the testing by the Instituto
Costarricense de Investigación y Enseñanza
en Nutrición y Salud (Inciensa) also allow
health officials to confirm the circulation
of other types of flu virus that is common
with the change in weather, with the start
of the rainy season.
Health officials are expected to take to the
road this coming week, visiting areas in the
northern and southern zones of the country
in a preventive campaign.
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