Confirmed Swine Flu Cases In O.C Skyrockets

The number of laboratory-confirmed cases of swine flu in Ocean County skyrocketed to 33, county health officials announced yesterday. Most have recovered from the flu that is caused by the H1N1 virus, but the virus has spread rapidly during the past few weeks. As of Wednesday, the number of confirmed cases in Ocean County was 24, according to the state Department of Health and Senior Services Web site. In Monmouth County there were 40 cases of the pandemic flu. There were 609 cases of swine flu throughout the state and six confirmed deaths as of Wednesday. The total does not include the nine latest confirmed cases in Ocean County. Areas of Ocean County where the virus has been confirmed include: Barnegat, Beachwood, Brick, Eagleswood, Jackson, Lakehurst, Lakewood, Little Egg Harbor, Manchester, Ocean, Plumsted, Stafford, Toms River and Tuckerton, officials said. Of the people who caught the virus, 10 were older than 18, seven are adolescents and 16 are younger than 13. Two weeks ago, there were only nine confirmed swine flu cases in Ocean County, and at least 33 people were being tested for the virus. APP