WA:
Many people who test negative may be sick with swine flu
Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2009
By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/kennewick_pasco_richland/story/768496.html#
Tri-City health officials say people sick with flu symptoms most likely have swine flu — even if they tested negative for flu.
Dr. Larry Jecha, health officer for the Benton-Franklin Health District, said about 40 percent of people who have flulike symptoms but who test negative for flu using the Influenza A rapid test actually have the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu.
“That’s why we’re encouraging diagnosis with symptoms because it’s more accurate,” Jecha said Monday.
Flu tests require people being tested to have a certain amount of virus in their bodies, so the test won’t detect flu in the first few hours after symptoms appear or after a person has been sick for more than a day.
“We only have a 24-hour window where they are going to be positive,” Jecha said.
That’s why health officials have emphasized that people with flulike symptoms need treatment rather than testing.
Good find. There way too many false negatives from the rapid tests to depend on them for Swine flu testing.
Moral of the story - If you’re in a group that should be treated, take your medicine. Either way, stay home and don’t spread it.