Ohio News Briefs

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Ohio officials: 2 children get flu from swine at county fair

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Officials say two children became ill with a new version of the flu virus after being in contact with infected pigs at a west-central Ohio county fair.

Ohio’s health and agriculture departments said Friday neither child was hospitalized. The flu is known as a variant of H3N2, which normally circulates in swine. Its symptoms are similar to seasonal flu viruses. Person-to-person spread is rare.

The state says both children got the virus while at the Clark County Fair in late July.

The cases come at the height of county fair season in Ohio.

State agriculture and health officials are stressing the importance of handwashing to fairgoers who come into contact with swine.

Ohio’s agriculture department plans to hold a conference call Monday with fair boards to emphasize such precautions.

Health officials: Woman bitten by bat with rabies in Ohio

BATAVIA, Ohio (AP) — Officials say a bat that was infected with rabies bit a woman in southwest Ohio.

Clermont County health officials say the bat was discovered in the woman’s Batavia home and captured for testing by the state Department of Health. Officials say the woman is undergoing treatment and is expected to recover.

The rabies case is the first in the county since 2013, when it was also discovered in a bat.

Rabies is rare in the country, but it almost always results in death if untreated. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says rabies only accounts for one or two human deaths per year.

The CDC says humans who do succumb to the virus normally do so because they weren’t aware they were exposed to it.

Officials declare diarrheal disease outbreak in central Ohio

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Public health officials in central Ohio have declared a community outbreak of a diarrheal disease caused by a parasite.

Columbus Public Health Spokesman Jose Rodriguez says at least 107 cases of cryptosporidiosis have been reported in Columbus, Franklin and Delaware counties this year, more than the previous three years combined. The outbreak is being linked to recreational water facilities in those counties.

Delaware County health officials recently said 19 people had contracted the disease after visiting Zoombezi Bay water park in July. That number has since grown.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says cryptosporidiosis is caused by a microscopic parasite and is most commonly spread through water. Symptoms include stomach pains, watery diarrhea and vomiting. Those sickened are encouraged to stay home and avoid pools and water parks.

Judge: Ohio must accept Planned Parenthood grant application

CINCINNATI (AP) — A federal judge says Ohio’s health department must consider a grant application from Planned Parenthood, as a law that seeks to divert public money away from the organization is being challenged.

The law was set to take effect in May, though a court order has placed it on hold while the judge weighs the challenge. That order is set to expire Friday.

The legislation targets money Planned Parenthood gets through grants administered by the health department. That money is mostly federal and supports initiatives that provide HIV tests, cancer screenings and other prevention services.

The law bars such funds from going to entities that perform or promote abortions.

U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett said Friday under his temporary restraining order that the department must accept and consider the group’s application.

Judge tosses fired band director’s suit against Ohio State

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge has dismissed the civil-rights lawsuit filed by Ohio State University’s fired marching band director, putting an almost certain end to Jonathan Waters’ two-year legal fight.

Waters was fired in July 2014 for ignoring a “sexualized culture” inside what’s known to fans as The Best Damn Band in the Land. He denied wrongdoing and sued for reinstatement and damages alleging reverse gender-discrimination.

Federal Judge James Graham on Friday rejected Waters’ argument that he was treated differently than a similarly-situated Ohio State female employee who faced allegations about “sexualized behavior” on the cheerleading squad.

Ohio State argued Waters was an at-will employee who could be fired for any reason and that he endured no reverse gender bias.

Waters could appeal but his lawyers have said he’s out of money.

Partygoer pulls boy, 3, from pool at southwest Ohio cookout

OWENSVILLE, Ohio (AP) — Authorities say a 3-year-old boy is safe after a partygoer rescued the toddler from a pool in southwest Ohio.

The Clermont County Sheriff’s Office says emergency crews were called to a Stonelick Township home just before 6 p.m. Thursday after several people at a cookout noticed a boy floating in a pool unresponsive.

Investigators say a partygoer pulled the toddler from the pool and performed CPR until an ambulance arrived. The boy was resuscitated by medical crews and taken in a helicopter to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.

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