Swine flu now making its way through Florida, health officials report

Florida is seeing much higher flu rates in many parts of the state, according to the most recent report from the Florida Department of Health.The report covers last week, showing that most of the state has been seeing an uptick in influenza.In Central Florida, nearly every county suffered from this increase, except for Sumter and Brevard counties, which instead saw steadier rates.And while there were no new outbreaks during that week, the report shows several Central Florida counties have already experienced outbreaks in the current flu year:Seminole County - 2Brevard County - 2Volusia County - 3The predominant strain at the moment is Influenza A H1N1 from the 2009 pandemic — also known as “swine flu.” Emergency room visits have also seen a slight uptick over the past month.WHAT IS SWINE FLU?As the name suggests, swine flu is a respiratory illness in pigs caused by influenza A viruses.When one of these viruses inflects a person, it’s called a “variant flu,” though the spread tends to b