The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and the Kent and Ionia County Health Departments have identified a human case of “Swine Flu” in an Ionia County resident who was a swine exhibitor at the Kent County Youth Fair. The fair took place on Aug. 3-8 at the Grand Agricultural Center of West Michigan in Lowell.
The individual tested presumptive positive and was confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday.
The Kent County Health Department has been reaching out to swine exhibitors and their families who visited the swine barns at the Kent County Youth Fair to identify any additional illnesses in those who may have been exposed to influenza from infected pigs.
Chief Medical Executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian says, “While the risk to the general public remains low, we want visitors who attended the Kent County Youth Fair to be alert to symptoms and take appropriate precautions.”
The time it takes from exposure to illness for variant influenza is similar to that of seasonal influenza, which can be up to 10 days.
For more information, visit CDC.gov/Swine-Flu.
