News-Record.com

The Swine Flu's spread into the United States after it has run roughshod through Mexico has gotten the attention of Public Health types.

The CDC has started a web page to track the spread in the United States. The score as of Sunday night:

State # of laboratory confirmed cases California 7 cases Kansas 2 cases New York City 8 cases Ohio 1 case Texas 2 cases TOTAL COUNT 20 cases

Health officials in North Carolina are on the case, according to this AP story:

"We're OK here so far," said Bill Furney, communication coordinator with the Division of Public Health in the Department of Health and Human Services.

Furney said Sunday that his agency has been in contact with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as well as with local health care providers. He said the effort was to make sure the information his department had was up to date. He said his office had also been talking to local health officials to make sure they have the information they need.

The U.S. declared a public health emergency Sunday to deal with the emerging new strain of swine flu.

To fight the illness, Furney said the key is to practice caution.

"The health message here is pay attention to the news reports. You use your typical prevention strategies as with any flu," he said. That means covering one's mouth before sneezing, staying away from people who are sick and washing hands frequently.

"The biggest thing is the prevention message," Furney said. "If they follow those ... they have the ability to be in control of the situation. We can't stress that enough."

According to the story, there will be a conference at Duke to discuss the flu Monday.

More from the AP here and the White House here.