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Attention Medicaid Participants: Eligibility Renewals Restarted April 1, 2023
This is a Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) Health Update. The Delaware Public Health Laboratory (DPHL) is requesting specimens from suspect Influenza-like illness cases with a history of travel to Mexico or exposure to known or suspected cases of Swine Flu.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has announced over 20 cases of swine influenza A (H1N1) have occurred recently in the United States. The U.S. cases have had self-limited febrile respiratory illness and were seen on an out-patient basis only. None had any exposure to swine and all had viruses with identical genetic sequences that contain a unique combination of gene segments previously not seen in humans or swine in the United States. The viruses that were tested were resistant to amantadine and rimandatine, and sensitive to oseltamivir and zanamivir.
DPH requests that clinicians consider the possibility of swine influenza virus infections in patients presenting with febrile respiratory illness who
If swine flu is suspected, clinicians should obtain a respiratory swab for swine influenza testing and place it in a refrigerator (not a freezer). Once collected, the clinician should call the DPH Bureau of Epidemiology (302) 744-4541 to make laboratory transport arrangements.
Due to the recent cases of a novel swine influenza as noted above, please send positive influenza samples to DPHL. DPHL needs your help to assess the influenza subtype(s) that may be present in our communities. Therefore, when your laboratory obtains a positive rapid A influenza result, including PCR (or culture-positive), please send an appropriate sample to DPHL Appropriate sample types are listed below.
What sample type to submit to DPHL