Confirmed, Probable H1N1 Cases Now at 54 in Illinois, 3 in Indiana

The Illinois Department of Public Health says the state now has three confirmed cases of H1N1 (swine) flu and 51 probable cases of the new virus.

Illinois health officials call a case "confirmed'' when additional testing by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention backs up the state's results. Kendall County has joined the list of northern Illinois counties with probable cases. The state says Kendall has one case. No cases have been reported yet in downstate Illinois, but Indiana health officials say three cases have been found there.

Illinois has tested more than 500 specimens from patients with flu symptoms and continue to receive more samples from doctors every day.

Health officials in Illinois say the state has enough flu drugs to treat more than one million people. And Illinois can raise that to a recommended level of stockpiled flu drugs within 12 hours with a request to the federal government.

An Associated Press survey finds that more than half the states have yet to stockpile the number of flu-treatment drugs recommended.

Chicago has its own stockpile of the drugs and earlier this week received an allotment from the federal emergency stockpile. Those drugs were delivered to 40 hospitals.

A Chicago Department of Public Health spokesman says the city won't discuss specific numbers "for security purposes.'' Chamapign-Urbana Public Health District administrator Julie Pryde says supplies of medication and protective equipment are being transported to a storage area in the county that she would not name.

The government recommends that each state have enough antiviral medicine on hand to treat 25 percent of its population.

(additional information from AM 580 News)