The case was confirmed by the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dr. Elizabeth Ford, head of Georgia's Division of Public Health, said at a news conference that the woman had traveled to Cancun, Mexico earlier this month.
The woman then went home to Kentucky before traveling to Georgia for a social function.
The people who were traveling with the woman to Mexico, as well as friends and family who were with her in Georgia, have tested negative for swine flu, Ford said.
The woman was admitted to West Georgia Medical System in LaGrange on Sunday with ``flu-like symptoms,'' said medical system president and CEO Jerry Fulks. She has been treated in isolation in a ``negative pressure room,'' which means the air is sucked out of the room through filters to remove airborne pathogens, Fulks said. Nurses and doctors caring for her are wearing masks, gloves and gowns.
Health officials declined to provide details about her condition.
``She is under excellent control,'' Fulks said. ``The clinicians treating her are very confident in their ability to take care of her.''
Ford said the woman returned from Mexico on April 21 after a weeklong trip.
Cases with flu-like systems are submitted to the state lab for testing. Those that come up with ``suspicious'' results are sent on to the CDC for further testing, Ford said. By Thursday morning, 13 cases had been sent to the state lab and only the LaGrange case had been sent on to the CDC, she said.
``We are being very mindful of trying to contain the level of panic,'' Ford said. She added that people should take the same precautions they would take during the normal flu season: wash hands often, cover their sneezes and stay home from school or work if they feel sick.
The World Health Organization has raised its alert level to Phase 5, the second-highest, indicating a pandemic may be imminent.
Swine flu has symptoms nearly identical to regular flu fever, cough and sore throat and spreads like regular flu, through tiny particles in the air, when people cough or sneeze.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2009/4/220040