Florida told to stand by

We are sure you're aware of the potential pandemic of swine flu which is sweeping across America at the moment. As reported widely, Florida has so far escaped any instances of the disease, but as the Tampa Tribune reports, that should be no reason for complacency.

While no cases of swine flu have been reported in Florida, county health departments around the state have a surveillance system in place to detect the new strain of influenza.
"We're monitoring this along with the federal government," said Steve Huard, spokesman for the Hillsborough County Health Department.
Health officials use a reporting system for cases of flu. If any cases of the strain are diagnosed, the results will be sent to Tallahassee and then to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The state health department will take direction from the CDC, Huard said.
As the number of confirmed cases of swine flu in the United States climbed to 20, federal officials declared a public health emergency today and warned the public to prepare for widespread outbreaks.
Tampa International Airport has not received any alerts from U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the CDC about procedures to screen arriving or departing passengers, said Brenda Geoghagan, the airport spokeswoman.
However, there are procedures that could be put in motion to screen passengers as well as protect airport workers.
The screening could involve questioning arriving or departing passengers about recent illnesses or their health.
Any screening of passengers arriving on international flights would fall to the Customs bureau. For domestic flights, screening would be done by airport and airline workers as passengers depart.
"There probably would be multiple layers," Geoghagan said.
The local health department routinely alerts the airport of outbreaks of contagious diseases.

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