The city may have its first reported case of swine flu, officials said last night.
City Public Health Director Walter Sweder said he is waiting for confirmation from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Ga., about a suspected case of the H1N1 flu of a 37-year-old Waltham man.
The state Department of Public Health was first alerted about the man's medical condition, he said. Sweder said a state epidemiologist told him about the suspected case on Friday.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health yesterday announced 28 additional cases of swine flu in the Bay State, bringing the total confirmed cases to 34. That includes 23 in Middlesex County.
Three of the 34 patients had been hospitalized and discharged, while the rest were not hospitalized at all, the state agency said. Patients range in age from 2 to 57.
Sweder said the Waltham man was treated at Newton-Wellesley Hospital. He said the man tested positive on a "rapid test," a quick means to determine if a patient contract a flu virus. Health officials were waiting to hear from the CDC for final confirmation, he said.
"I did speak with the gentleman today and he told me he is feeling well and he's going back to work on Wednesday," Sweder said.
After a seven-day period, it should be safe for the man to return to work, he said.
"His onset (of flu-like symptoms) was on the 28th of April," Sweder said. "You wait seven days or 24 hours after your last symptom."
Sweder said for legal reasons he could not reveal the name of the man or where he works, but does not believe the man had traveled to Mexico recently, where most of the cases have been reported.
According to a report from the World Health Organization released last night, health officials in Mexico reported 590 confirmed human cases of infection including 25 deaths. Health officials in the United States reported 286 confirmed human cases of infection, including one death.
Sweder said it is important to remember that while some people may recover from swine flu, the disease may still be communicable and urged proper personal sanitation techniques.
"One of the things you have to remember is there's probably people out there that are positive for swine flu. The only cases that we're going to see is if they go to a hospital and it's reported," he said. "Mild cases might run their course, but that doesn't mean they are not communicable."
Sweder said the city is ready in the case of a swine flu outbreak. The city has stockpiled 20,000 syringes to immunize people.
The local Emergency Planning Committee has planned to handle disease outbreaks like swine flu and a volunteer group, the Waltham Medical Reserve Corps, would help with immunizations.
"All the proper protocols have been followed," he said, adding city health officials have been in touch daily with state Department of Public Health officials.
Mayor Jeannette McCarthy yesterday said she is confident of the city's response in case of an outbreak.
"I would say the health department is very prepared," she said. "They have been working on this since the beginning and they have been very much in touch the state department of health multiple times a day."
Material from the Associated Press was used in this report. Daily News reporter Dan McDonald contributed to this report. Jeff Gilbride can be reached at 781-398-8005 or at jgilbrid@cnc.com
